Guardian Angel
by seraphblades-and-wands
Summary: Professor McGonagall calls Angel Custos, to her office on the last day of school to discus a very important matter. To protect Harry Potter. Angel must go to Privet Drive and nanny the spoiled Dudley and neglected Harry. Facing the struggles of trying to please Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, while still treating Harry right, she struggles to keep her magic hidden, posing as a Muggle.
1. The Dursleys

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

 **Thank you to gauryadav80 for helping me with this story. We make excellent authors together.**

I walked up the steps to the Dursley's front door remembering the meeting I had had with Professor McGonagall. She had told me to keep Harry safe at all costs. I had been especially appointed to this mission, and I was not about to screw it up.

"Good morning, Ms. Custos," Professor McGonagall greeted me as I stepped into her classroom. Why did she call me in? Did Fred and George Weasley do something and blame me again? Those first years were real pains. But you had to admit, if you weren't the being pranked, they were pretty funny.

"Good morning, Professor."

"I apologize, Ms. Custos, for calling you on the last day of your last term, but it is an extremely important matter I must discuss with you."

This was not good. I don't like Professor McGonagall's 'important matters'. One time it was that I didn't make the Quidditch team when Professor Snape wouldn't let me play, one time it was that I had to help Professor Sprout with the Mandrakes. That one particularly gives me shivers. The Mandrakes did _not_ want to be rooted. There was only one time the important matter was good- when she told me I was acing my Muggle studies.

I'm guessing I showed my resentment on my face, because Professor McGonagall said, "Don't worry, Ms. Custos, I think you will like this one."

 _Well, I wasn't expecting that…_ I thought. Right after I thought this, Professor McGonagall said, "I know you weren't expecting this news to be good Ms. Custos. Most of my matters to you are either chores or overall bad news. But only because you are one of my most reliable and trustworthy students, despite being a Slytherin." That last sentence stung a little. I mean, if someone, especially a Professor, insults your house, it hurts. It really does. But I guess she was also complimenting me, so I went with it.

"Thank you, Professor, but what's the matter at hand?" I asked. After I asked this, I detected a worrisome expression in her usually stern face. That worried me. Professor McGonagall was not the worrisome type.

"Ms. Custos, you have most likely heard about Harry Potter."

I felt goosebumps rising on my arms and neck. Who hadn't heard about The Boy Who Lived? But why was Professor McGonagall talking about him?

"Yes, Professor, tons of times."

"Good, because this matter involves him."

I felt my heart beating faster and faster by the second. Something related to Harry Potter. My friends would love to hear about this.

"Of course you can tell no one about this. This is very secretive. Even Professor Dumbledore doesn't know about this." I now had a feeling that Professor McGonagall was a Legilimens. She also shot down my bragging right, so that was a little disappointing.

"Ms. Custos, I need you to be Potter's guardian." I felt like fainting. Guardian?! This was too much for me to take. I had never thought Professor McGonagall would trust me to do this.

"It is your duty to make sure Potter is not in harm's way. But you must not tell him this. You must stay undetected. You must not fail. You must keep him safe at all costs"

And now I was here. In front of Harry's door, jumping out of my skin, nervous to knock, anxious to meet him.

An extremely thin and tall woman answered the door. "You must be Angel. Come in." She said through pursed lips. She stood aside and I pulled out my wand.

"Now Mrs. Dursley, I am really sorry about this, but I really must do this. _Imperio_." I said, and a wisp of green and blue smoke came out of my wand, and Mrs. Dursley took a deep breath and a blank look crossed her face. "You are going to act normal, but if I suggest something, you are going to do that thing. Like right now, I'm suggesting you sign this contract, saying that you will hire me, and my pay will be food and room. You will also convince your husband that I am the perfect fit. Do you understand?" She nodded curtly as I handed her the long paper and a quill. She signed it with a flush and then looked back at me.

"All of those rules will be in place until further notice. Thank you." I snapped my fingers and she was back to her normal, curt self.

Mr. Dursley yelled from the living room, "Petunia! We're waiting!" She ushered me into the living room where I saw an extremely fat boy, about nine years old, sitting on the couch. I was very confused. How could this be the famous Harry Potter?

"Angel, this is our boy, Dudley." She leaned in and gave him a kiss on his very fat, extremely pink cheek. Then she righted herself and had a very stern look on her face. "But we do have another boy. He isn't ours of course, he is the son of my late sister and her husband. He is a very troubled lad, and I hope you won't have much trouble with him." She went over to the hallway and knocked feverishly on the door of the hallway. "Boy! Come here!" She yanked the door open.

Out came a boy, about nine as well. His black hair was very untidy and he was very skinny, and looked weak. It seemed as if he was being starved and was wearing clothes much too big for him. He wore glasses that were taped together at the bridge and he had brilliantly green eyes. I looked at his forehead- and there was the scar. The legendary scar that made Harry Potter so mysterious, so interesting and so extraordinary. How and why were these Muggles treating this legendary boy as if he was a dung beetle?

I glanced back at the big, pink, blob of flesh that they worshipped more than The Boy Who Lived, and smiled at him as fakely as I could and said, "Your son is lovely." Mrs. Dursley seemed pleased by this and said, "Yes, he is, isn't he? He is so wonderful, my Ickle Diddykins!" I held back a laugh and let Mrs. Dursley babble on as I looked back at Harry and winked at him. He smiled at me, his beautiful eyes twinkling, and honestly, I don't know if I have seen anything more warming.

 **I GOT THE CURSED CHILD! I can't wait to start reading. My feels are in overload. I absolutely love Harry Potter and am so happy that he's back. Thank you, Queen JK. We love you. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.**


	2. Sandwiches

The next day, Mrs. Dursley went to the market for some more dog food for Dudley. Well, obviously not dog food, she went to buy groceries. She left me in charge of her 'Dudley Diddy Duddydums' and 'the other one', telling me what foods to give to both of them. Dudley got the whole fridge while Harry got a shred of cheese and an apple. I was truly disgusted by this, but I didn't say anything, because it would fire me, ruining my chance of protecting Harry. So, I just agreed. But when Mrs. Dursley disappeared around the corner, I made 6 sandwiches and gave 3 of them to Harry and 3 of them to Dudley. Dudley looked deeply disgusted while Harry looked as if I had handed him a plate full of gold. Harry ate all of his food in 10 seconds flat while Dudley glared at him, not touching a bite.

"Are you not eating that?" Harry asked Dudley politely. Dudley grabbed all three sandwiches in his enormous hands, and wolfed them down, still glaring at Harry. I turned on the T.V. and put a cartoon on for the both of them to watch. Harry sat on the floor while Dudley sat on the big, fluffy couch.

"Harry, don't you want to sit on the couch?" I asked and he looked up at me incredibly, and said, "The couch? You mean the one Dudley's sitting on?" His voice was sweeter than honey.

"Is there another couch?" I asked and Harry smiled. I beckoned him to sit, and he got up and sat down on the couch in a way as if it were his first time. Dudley was looking amazed and kept looking at me and Harry over and over again.

I just stood behind the couch, watching the Muggle television. The things Muggles come up with, honestly...

Finally, Mrs. Dursley came home and put the groceries away, and Dudley thundered after his mother, into the kitchen. From there I could hear his unpleasant voice complaining, "Mummy! Mummy! That older girl gave Harry 3 sandwiches and gave _me_ 3 sandwiches as well! And she let Harry sit on the couch, next to me!"

I heard something drop in the kitchen, presumably something wooden, and then Mrs. Dursley was storming into the living room, strikingly resembling a very angry giraffe with a blonde baby hippo following, grinning nastily.

"Angel! What did I tell you about food proportions? And why is that thing sitting on the couch?" Mrs. Dursley shouted at me.

"That thing happens to be a living, breathing boy, Mrs. Dursley, it needs food." I said.

"That boy is a nuisance and you need to accept it if you want to continue working here!"

I considered it and I realized that I had to agree. For Harry's safety and well being, of course.

"I understand."

Mrs. Dursley looked at me with a glare like poisoned honey. "That's what I thought. Now we need to talk about your sleeping accommodations. Dudley has an extra bedroom that you can use, I think." Immediately Dudley began to protest. He waved his fat hands in the air and yelled at his mummy that he really needed that room. I couldn't see why a boy would need two rooms. But Mrs. Dursley talked sweetly to her son and bribed him with a candy, and he finally stopped whining.

I went into an uneasy sleep. The way these people treated Harry, it was borderline child cruelty. I wouldn't stand for it. Things would get better for that boy, I vowed to myself. And it would start tonight.

A few hours later, I woke up bolt upright and remembered my dream. It was about my dad, my evil, backwards dad. He had betrayed me this time, like he did his friends. I was living with their son. And he was being practically starved.

I threw off the thin covers of my creaky mattress and padded softly on the wooden floor. I looked around my room. There was a loose floorboard where I could hide food under. I went downstairs to the kitchen, walking as softly as I could. I wasn't going to give up magic, and I used it here, making sure my feet didn't make any sounds going down the stairs.

I opened the door to the refrigerator and looked inside. Was there anything stable for Harry to eat in here? A sandwich. All that boy needed was a sandwich. And a little fruit wouldn't hurt. I got out the grapes that Mrs. Dursley had gotten and put them on a plate. Then I put together two sandwiches, one which I would save for later, and the other for now.

I wondered where they might have him sleep. Not in the guest bedroom. Not in any of the closets. Then I heard a soft _bam_ from the stairs and then a soft "Ow!" I went over to the cupboard under the stairs and knocked lightly on the door. "Harry? Are you in there?"

"Yes." Came the muffled whimper from inside the cupboard. I unlocked the hatch and opened the door to reveal an Itty bitty little space, in which Harry was sitting.

"Oh my goodness! This is… How can you stand for it? Those Muggles-" I covered my mouth. I had let something slip.

"Whats a Muggle?" Asked Harry sweetly, in a voice that was hard to resist telling him everything.

"Nothing, love. That's how we talk at home. A muggle is someone who is just… well, different. Not like you and me." I handed him the sandwich and he looked at me like I was a real angel, sent down by God to protect him with this marvelous sandwich.

"Thank you, I'll-well-You-wow." He proceeded to eat the sandwich in as little time as it tool me to blink.

"You could win an eating contest, kid. But those people treat you like vermin. I'm here for you though. If you need anything, just tell me."

He looked at me, his green eyes full of sadness. "Is it going to get better? When I was younger, I would dream about distant relatives coming to take me away. But that's never going to happen. I just want to know if it's ever gonna get better." I teared up, thinking about this poor boy.

I looked this at starved, mistreated boy in the eyes and said "Yes. It's going to get better. For every star in the sky, there is an amazing meal on your plate. For every blade of grass, there is a night in a warm bed. For every wand out there, there is a wizard by your side." He looked confused.

"I don't understand." He said. "But how? Magic doesn't exist."

"Said who?"

"Aunt Petunia said."

"She doesn't seem like the woman to believe. Do you know how your parents died?"

"In a car crash."

"They died protecting you." He looked awestruck. I didn't know what to say to that innocent face. He didn't believe me, I could tell.

"Did they love me?"

"So much, Harry, so, so, much."

"Did you know them?"

"As a matter of fact I did." I layed down next to him on the bed.

"What were they like?"

"Magical in every way." We lay in silence for a while, until Harry fell asleep and I went up stairs to my room and hid the sandwich under the floorboards. I also wrote a note, and put it in a box. I took out my wand from it's special box and carved H.J.P. onto it. A time capsule to Harry. I went back to bed with a little more reassurance that I could improve this boy's life.


	3. Cleaning and Other Interesting Events

**I don't own Harry Potter**

The next day, as I went to the door to get the post, I saw a pair of glowing cat eyes through the mail slot. I was so startled, I jumped, then I realized it was a cat. With unusual markings around its eyes kind of like glasses…

I realized who it was, then opened the door and crouched down in front of the cat.

"Professor?" I said quietly so that the Dursley's couldn't hear.

The cat nodded and went towards the road and looked back, as if motioning me to follow. I put down the letters on the porch and closed the door quietly behind me. The cat ran towards the street and I followed. We went around the corner into an alley. Then the cat transformed into a woman with a stern face and an authoritative vibe. She was wearing green robes and her hair was tied up in a tight bun which was concealed under a pointed hat.

"Professor McGonagall!" I said in relief.

"Yes, Ms. Custos. I am here to inform you that I will be giving you weekly updates from the Wizarding World. If you see me outside then you should know to come out immediately." she said.

"Yes, Professor." I said, taking in every word. McGonagall nodded and handed me a newspaper before turning back into a cat. She then leapt onto a trashcan and onto the window sill and then on top of a building and ran out of sight.

I ran back to the Dursley's house and quietly came in, picking up all the letters when Mr. Dursley's putrid voice rang through the hall, "ANGEL! WHAT THE DEVIL ARE YOU DOING! I ASKED YOU TO GET THE POST, NOT START A BUSINESS!"

I almost forgot about the Dursley's and rushed in with the letters in my hands and handed them to Mr. Dursley.

"Sorry, Mr. Dursley, a cat was ruining Mrs. Dursley's flowers, I was shooing it away." I said. Mr. Dursley glared at me and grunted in approval.

I ran upstairs quickly to put the paper away. I would read it later. I ran back down stairs and was instructed to make breakfast. I fried bacon and cooked up some eggs. Dudley scarfed his large portion down quickly, while Harry barely got anything. I didn't get a very large portion myself.

I went back upstairs while Mr. Dursley set of to work, and sat on the small bed that was mine. I pulled out the newspaper and looked at the news.

There was nothing interesting. Regular Ministry elections (A new man named Fudge), a man named Gilderoy Lockhart was publishing books on the adventures he had killing magical beast, Rita Skeeter had written another article about the prosecution of Death Eaters, not very interesting. I put the paper in the box with Harry's initials on it and went down stairs to see what needed to be done, where Mrs. Dursley was standing there and looking at a list of chores.

"Now Angel. I'm going to see a friend today. The house needs to be cleaned by the time I get home. Harry can do it, he knows the deal." She shoved the cleaning supplies into Harry's hands and he went upstairs to clean the bathrooms. "Same food portions as yesterday, and don't feed that boy any more than I said. I will be back around four. Have tea ready." He pecked Dudley on the cheek and closed the door behind her with a jerk.

"Harry!" I called up stairs. "You can come down!" Dudley was the first one to say something.

"But Angel, Mummy said-"

"I am not Mummy." I turned back to Harry who had poked his head out the door. "I will clean, Harry. You can come down here and watch telly with Dudley. I have the perfect show."

"BUT-" Yelled Dudley.

"Shush! Harry, tell me if he doesn't share. And you can sit on the couch if you want." I went to the kitchen and slid in a DVD of a show I had watched in the orphanage that I had been sent to eight years ago after my adoptive father was sent to Azkaban. I shuddered at the thought of him. It was such a terrible idea that a man would betray his best friends. The show was Doctor Who, something that we had watched almost every week. I put in the very first episode, The Unearthly Child, and Harry was immediately absorbed into the wacky old time traveler and his granddaughter. Dudley on the other hand, was whining about how unfair this was, and how boring. But five minutes in, he wasn't complain any more.

I went up to my room and pulled out a long, thin, locked box. I pulled out a chain on my neck. At the end there was a spade like key. I put it in the hole and the lid popped up. Inside, nestled in velvet, was my wand. I loved my wand. In curly letters it said _Twenty-five And Four Tenths, Acacia, Dragon Heart String_ and the inside of the top lid. I pulled it out and tucked it up my sleeve, and went to the bathroom.

The bathroom was amazingly clean. It was shinny white, and almost painful to look at. I pulled out my wand and waved it around. Immediately, the mirror was wiped of, the counter was swiped, and the toilet was scrubbed.

It was all so clean already, it didn't take long to clean everything up. I went to the next room, the master bedroom. Again the room was immaculate. The bed had been made and there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere. I wasn't going to snoop around my employer's bedroom, so I moved on.

Dudley's room was an absolute mess. Food was everywhere, dirty clothes scattered the floor, and a television stood on a dusty dresser covered with dust. The bed was unmade, it was smelly, and you could barely see the floor so many toys were everywhere. It might take hours to clean without magic. I went, put my wand back in my room, and went down stairs.

"Dudley, do you ever clean your room?" He didn't even look up at me. He shook his head and said in a monotone, "Nobody ever goes in there but me. It doesn't need to be clean."

"And what would you do if I cleaned it?"

"Probably punch you in the face like I do with Harry." This was absolutely too much for me to take. I pulled on Dudley's collar and pulled him up so he was facing me.

"Oi! I'm watching the telly!"

"What did you say?" I growled, not letting go.

"I said I would punch you in the face like I did with Harry." He said indifferently.

"Your parents may turn a blind eye to you, but not under my watch. If you EVER hurt Harry, ever even TOUCH him I will turn you into a pig or so help me Merlin put you through pain you count even fathom!" I yelled at him. I then turned to Harry, who was looking at me a little frightened. "Now you tell me if this great lump ever hurts you" I let go of his collar violently, giving him a small push back onto the couch, and he looked at me with an expression on his face that was a mixture of fear and hate and disbelief.

He scrunched his fat face up and made a the most disgusting sound I have ever had the misfortune of hearing. He wasn't actually crying, I knew that, but I still had to do something about it. This fat, spoiled, pink blob had to be stopped. I ran upstairs and grabbed my wand of my bed, ran back down the stairs, pointed it at Dudley and in my head said _Silencio._ I was very good at silent spells, if I say so myself. Harry looked at me in the most bewildered way, and Dudley found that he no longer could make noise.

It was hilarious to watch, it seemed as if he had gone mad, he was running around the house, but no matter how hard he tried, no noise came out. I felt a small tugging at my sleeve, and I looked down at Harry.

"You should probably stop." he said, to my amazement. This kid who had been bullied his whole life, defending his attacker..

"Stop? Harry, he tortures you, he deserves this! He's lucky I didn't do the Bat-Bogey Hex on him!"

"What's a Bat-Bogey Hex?"

I suddenly realized what I'd done. I had performed magic. In front of a Muggle! I panicked and thought what to do and a solution immediately came into my mind. But it was tricky, and I'd never practiced it.

I gathered my concentration, pointed my wand at Dudley and muttered "Obliviate".

A small beam of light hit Dudley and suddenly he was standing still. I quickly slid my wand up into my sleeve and asked him "Dudley, are you okay?"

Dudley stared at me and grunted, saying, "Get me some cake." I pointed the tip of my wand out from under my sleeve and obliviated Harry was well. He blinked sat back down, looking at the telly like nothing had happened at all.

"I'll go get that cake." I said and went into the kitchen. That was a close call. I decided if anything like that ever happened again, I would just obliviate them. I opened the fridge and looked pulled out the cake that Dudley had wanted. After putting a slice on a plate, I went back to the living room too give the cake too Dudley. I ate quickly, even licking the plate. I was discussed.

The rest of the day was fairly normal. I cleaned the rest of the house and prepared tea for Mrs. Dursley, I cooked dinner, I did the dishes. I made a sandwich and visited Harry in the middle of the night again.

"Angel, something happened today." He told me, after finishing his sandwich. "Something important. But I can't remember what it was. You yelled at Dudley, but I can't remember what you said exactly. Then you went up stairs, and I don't remember anything after that. Next thing I know, Dudley is eating cake and I'm watching telly." I fidgeted uncomfortably. I didn't know how to explain what had happened.

"Maybe you just had a memory lapse. Happens too me all the time. Don't worry about it." He could tell something was up, clever boy. "I should go." I hastily picked up the plate and opened the door.

"Angel." He said, I turned around. "Why aren't you telling me what happened?" I didn't want to lie, but I couldn't tell the truth either.

"Everyone hides something. You just have to figure out what it is." He looked at me, confusion written all over his face. I slipped out the door without another word and went back to my room, where a night of troubled sleep met me.

 **School started back up! I'm having a good time, and I hope you are to. Please comment, ohmytimeturner, the co-author of this story, really enjoy reading them. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Scrapped Knees

The next few days, nothing happened except some accidental magic on Harry's part, and some stupid moments on Dudley's part. The only thing I was conserved about was what would happen when school started, which inevitably would. I was expecting a visit from McGonagall in the next few days, she could tell me what to do.

"Angel, I'm having a party in a few days, and I need the garden weeded. You take Harry and Dudley outside while I do some housework." Mrs. Dursley ordered as she shoved some gardening supplies into my hands.

"Yes, ma'am." I said, and took the kids into the scorching hot sun. Dudley went and complained about it being so hot, while Harry, smart boy, climbed the shady tree. I bent over the garden and started pulling out the weeds and pruning the bushes. I found this task quite exhausting, and my back was stiff when I finally heard a _thud_ come from the tree, then a faint whimper. I turned around to see Harry on all fours, looking quite shocked.

I rushed over. "Harry, are you alright?" He pulled himself into a sitting position, and pointed at his knees. They looked quite beat up. A faint trickle of red blood oozed out. The cut wasn't to deep, but it would most definitely need a band-aid and some antiseptic. I ran to get some, and when I came back with them, I saw Harry sitting up,calling to something in the garden bed.

"Here, kitty kitty, here kitty!" He was saying. I looked over to see a tabby cat with rectangular markings around its eyes, sitting calmly, flicking her tail back and forth. "Can I pet the kitty, Angel?" Harry asked with big eyes.

"Not right now." I washed out his cut and put a band-aid on it, then turned to Professor McGonagall. She scampered past, down an alley, right past Harry, who stuck his fingers put and brushed the cat's fur. I followed McGonagall to the spot we had seen each other last. She transformed, looking back at Harry.

"What a cute boy." She said in a grandmotherly sort of way.

"Professor," I said, clearing my throat.

"Right. School. As you learned in Muggle Studies, children go to school from the ages five to eighteen, from September to June. You will not be needed at this time, so that could be your break, to go do things, as they say these days.

"Also, soon Harry will begin to display magic. You must act as the situation calls for. Do not tell Harry what they mean, that is his aunt and uncle's job.

"And one last thing. Because of school starting soon, I will not be able to make the so often. I will send an owl, or of you like," She pulled out a bottle and a leaf. I gasped, recognizing immediately what she was holding.

"Yes, Professor, please. I would love to be an animagus."

"The only problem with this is we don't know what animal you will turn into. This could be very risky, and you don't want it to go wrong. We have done several test, and determined that your animagi will be a bird, which is very good, because you could accompany Harry on his journey to Hogwarts as an owl or other bird. I will do a few more test, just to confirm, then tell you the results next week." She put the leaf and bottle back in her cloak, and handed me the weekly newspaper. Smiling, she turned back into a cat and sprang away.

This was amazing news! I was ecstatic, I might be an animagus! I skipped back over to the house in a very good mood, only to find Dudley back from wearever he had been, pushing Harry over, who was cradling his once again bloodied knee. In Dudley's hand, he held a Band-Aid, laughing hysterically. He stopped abruptly when he saw me walking towards him, anger spreading over my face like wildfire. He backed over into the tree and I was tempted to strike him. The pure terror on his face actually made me laugh instead.

"Angel? What so funny?" Harry asked from the ground. I was still chuckling when I looked back too Dudley.

"This _idiot_ thinks that he can hurt Harry Potter and get away with it," I said, grabbing Dudley's arm. "Come on." I helped Harry up, and led them both into the house. I shoved Dudley into a chair, and got another Band-Aid for Harry, scolded Dudley, took them both back outside in fear of Mrs. Dursley, and continued weeding the garden. Harry opted not to climb the tree again and put on some gloves too help with the weeding.

"You look really happy, Angel."

"I am happy," I replied, brushing over the soil. It was crazy how little weeds there were, and she still wanted to have it weeded. I sat up and looked up at my young friend. "I just got some good news. That's why I'm happy."

"You got good news from a cat?" Harry asked, scrunching his face up.

I laughed. "Apparently." I patted down the already immaculate soil and stood up. "Let's go tell your aunt we're done." I helped Harry up, and I yelled too Dursley, calling him up too the front door. We walked up the door, where Mrs. Dursley already stood.

"Thank you, Angel, for getting that done. Now come inside and have tea. Harry, Dudley,find something else to do." This was very unusual behavior for Mrs. Dursley, thanking you and inviting you too tea, already made, no less. We walked inside and sat down in the pristine sitting room.

"Angel, as you know, school will be starting soon. I've been able to hold up this house with no extra help so far, so I don't know what will be keeping this year. I think you should only come in the evenings, that would be when the kids get home. That way you could have a place of your own, and we might be able to pay you actual money. You can stay on the holidays, and the summer, if you like. Would you that be alright?" I sipped my tea thoughtfully and pretended to contemplate the decision. The truth was, I was slightly shocked by the request, and didn't know whether to agree or not.

"I'll sleep on it," I said, the only thing I could say, itching to leave the sitting room.

"Alright. That would work for me. Thank you," She said, standing. I could tell this meeting was over.

After picking up the tea time, I practically sprinted up the stairs, and sat at my desk, and scribbling a letter to Professor McGonagall, asking for her opinion. I called a quick owl service, which was a simple spell that called an owl too do your postal service, as long as you have a galleon. It was quick, easy, and fast. This made me think of what McGonagall had said. I might be an animagus! Being able to change into an animal, it would be amazing. I sent the owl off with a coin in a small bag, for that purpose. Maybe I would be an owl, like the tawny that delivered my letter. I sighed. That wasn't something to think of now. Tomorrow, Mrs. Dursley would be having a party, and I would have to keep the kids busy, while also helping with the party. I went back downstairs, and went back outside with the kids, all the while contemplating Mrs. Dursley's offer, and also the prospect of being an animagus.


	5. Spells Gone Wrong and Huge Mistakes

**In the most unfortunate stroke of unluckiness, neither authors own Harry Potter. It's a shame, we know.**

* * *

Finally, the dreaded day of the party came, quicker than it should have. The house was decorated with a horrifying display of color, with the words 'Back to school, Dudley!' written on a gigantic banner, which was so colorful it hurt to see, on top of the front doorway. Underneath the huge 'Dudley' was written in very small writing, 'and Hary'. It infuriated me to see that, first of all, they wrote Harry's name so small, secondly, they didn't even bother to spell it right, and lastly, their color scheme on the banner was very off. Barf green with neon orange. Joking aside, it really did infuriate me. So, being the vengeful person I am, I took out my wand, looked around for any Muggles that might have been watching. Thankfully, none in sight.

I pointed at the small 'Hary' and whispered, "Engorgio."

That was the stupidest mistake in my life. The banner itself started to enlarge, until it was so big it could wrap around the house three times. Panicking, I pointed my wand at the door and whispered, "Colloportus."

I racked my brain for a spell to reduce the size of the banner. Reduce… Reduce! I pointed my wand at the banner and said, "Reducio!" And slowly, the banner reduced to it's original size. I sighed a breath of relief, and turned around to see one of Mrs. Dursley's Muggle friend, drink in trembling hand, her eyes wide. Oh boy.

I pointed my wand at the Muggle. Her eyes grew wide and she ran, screaming and sloshing her drink onto the ground. I ran after her and yelled, "LANGLOCK!" Suddenly, her screaming stopped. My heart was in my throat. I didn't know what that spell did. I'd only heard it somewhere and it came to my head. What if a Death Eater used that curse to kill or torture someone? _What have I done?_

I ran to her and turned her around. She was okay, but couldn't talk. Her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth. She was fighting, though, throwing punches and kicks that I didn't know were possible in a dress like hers. I rolled my eyes. Classic Muggles, having that aggressive and useless reaction in them. I guess I couldn't judge. I had glued her tongue to the roof of her mouth.

"Shush!" I hissed at her. "I'm sorry. I just need you to sit still!" I imagined that if she could talk, she would say, 'Unhand me at once, devilish creature!" Or maybe that was to medieval. Whatever she was thinking, her thrashing was making it very hard to concentrate on Obliviating her.

Then the worst part happened. Yes, I know, you're probably thinking, 'How could this get any worse?' Well that's what I was thinking until the rest of the party arrived. I could certainly imagine how this looked. Me, a young girl, brandishing a wooden stick at an older lady, who was fighting for her life, unable to speak.

All students had been taught a spell that would dispatch a team of Obliviators if you needed one. The woman had stopped thrashing, and was breathing heavily. The entire party was frozen in shock. I looked down at the banner. Stupid, stupid, stupid me. Could I handle this on my own? Nope, not at all. But was it worth the involvement of the Ministry? What would I say to McGonagall? If I didn't, I could risk the exposing of the wizarding world. It was very much not worth it to try on my own. So I thought of exactly what was happening, then flicked my wand and a little whisper escaped the tip, just like it was suppose to, off to the Ministry.

That seemed to do the trick. The small mob of people suddenly unfroze, and panic spread like wildfire. Just seconds later, I heard about ten faint _pops!_ and ten wizards and witches in Ministry robes apparated onto the scene, in a circle around the chaos.

Simultaneously, they raised their wands, and a spell was performed, then suddenly the living room suddenly froze, me included. I couldn't move. It was like one Petrificus Totalis had been cast on the entire room. Ladies frozen, mid scream, Dudley's friends, stuck waving chubby fists in the air. It would have been comical if I hadn't been included in this game of super freeze tag. Luckily, Harry had been sent to the neighbors house, an old lady who was the very picture of a weird aunt, the kind you avoid at family gatherings.

The wizards and witches started moving around the room, looking for the person who had called. It didn't take too long, I had my wand raised, frozen above my head. They wrenched my hands down and pulled me out of the circle, where I slowly unfroze.

"Young lady, what have you done?" Asked a motherly witch, most likely sent to guilt people into spilling what crime they had committed.

"I tried to cast an Engorgio charm, but it went wrong." I swallowed. My mouth was dry as parchment, but the palms of my hands were as wet and warm as hot chocolate. "When I got it back to its normal size, I turned around and that lady had seen me." I pointed to the woman in question, stopped mid-punch, who would have been wailing like a banshee, had she not been frozen, and her tongue not glued to the roof of her mouth. "Then everybody else came. It was all I could do to call the Ministry." I hung my head in shame, and the the motherly witch looked at me sternly, just how I imagined a mother would glare down at a misbehaving child. Weirdly enough, I wished my _real_ mother had given me that look. When I knew her, she was always happy. Then my father had been sent to Azkaban for killing 13 people, and I was sent to a muggle orphanage. But enough backstory, this lady was giving me a serious death-glare.

"Do you know who lives in this house?" She asked.

"Harry Potter, ma'am." I whispered. I raised my head. "He's at the neighbor's house right now."

"What are you doing in this house?" Asked a mean looking wizard. He must be Bad Cop, from Muggle telly.

"I'm his and his cousin's nanny."

"A witch? His nanny?"

"Yes, ma'am. I was appointed just about a month ago."

"What's your name, child?"

"Angel Custos." None of them had heard about my father. Well, they probably had, but so none of them knew I was related to him. Thank goodness. I would have been locked up in a cell right next to him.

"And you are on no exterior motives, for being appointed?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No, ma'am. I'm on orders from Professor McGonagall."

Bad Cop said solemnly, "We're going to take you in for further questioning." He barked some orders and magically tied my hands behind my back. It was a bit unnecessary, in my opinion, but what would I know? I had probably just risked the exposure of the magical community. Had I broken the International Statute of Secrecy? Today had not been a good day.

"I hope, erm, Ms. _Cusstoss_ , the severity of your actions." I went as red as a beetroot as the Minister of Magic, Mr. Cornelius Fudge, addressed me.

"Custos." I said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Fudge adjusted his lime green bowler hat on his head. Honestly, was there any need to wear it indoors?

"My-my name. It's Coos-toes. Not Cuss-toss." I said. I didn't know the matter was so serious that I'd be having a talk the Minister himself. But then again, this was Harry Potter we were talking about, and it had only been a few years since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named vanished and the wizarding world was still cleaning up. No need for Muggles to pester us more.

"Yes, yes, Ms. _Custos_. This is your first and final warning. You are to be fined. I hope you can understand why."

"Yes, sir."

Mr. Bad Cop and Ms. Sweet Talk were standing behind me. One of them released the bonds that were still tying my hands behind my back. Now that my hands where free, I was seriously considering whipping out my wand and firing an Engorgio spell on the Minister's hat.

"Come on, sweetie." Ms. Sweet Talk ushered me out of the office, where a man with spectacles and alarmingly red hair was standing, with a pen and a pad of paper in his hand.

"Oh, my! You're the young lady who stayed at the Muggle residence aren't you?" he said, following me and the Ministry official.

"Y-yes."

"Could you be so kind to answer a few of my questions, dear?"

"Sure." Suddenly, a thought struck me. I stopped in my tracks, the official almost tripping over me. Suddenly, Ms. Sweet Talk seemed like Ms. Sour Talk.

"Who are you, sir?" I asked the man.

"Arthur Weasley. I work in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department. Muggles are _fascinating_ , wouldn't you agree?" He had a sparkle in his eyes that I couldn't help but smile at. This energetic red head seemed like a very good man.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley. Yes, Muggles are fascinating. I'd love to discuss them with you, if you want."

Mr. Weasley was practically bouncing with excitement. Ms. Sour Talk frowned and said, "I don't really think this is the place, Weasley."

I turned to the official, " _Mr._ Weasley, miss."

Mr. Weasley's face now matched the color of his hair as he stuttered something incoherent. Ms. Sour Talk gave me a look and grabbed me as we Apparated. The last thing I saw was Mr. Weasley rushing towards me, his mouth forming the word _No_.

I stood in front of Number Four Privet Drive, glaring at the horrifying banner as the muggle I had earlier "attacked" (according to Mr. Bad Cop) came, a look of disgust on her face as she saw me.

"You're that kid that Petunia hired, aren't you? That little servant kid."

I counted to ten. How dare she call me a servant.

"I'm a nanny. I look after kids. I don't do chores. I don't _serve_ anyone. And neither should anyone else." I said.

"Yes, yes, good speech. Now, fetch me another glass of punch, girl."

The woman reached her glass out as if wanting me to take it. My hand shot to my pocket, where my wand was, but quickly stopped myself. I needed to control my anger and my pride. I gritted my teeth and forcefully took the glass, making sure that I scraped my nails on her hand. Judging by the sounds of discomfort behind me as I walked in the house to get the punch, I'd succeeded.

* * *

 **Most sincere apologies for not updating sooner. I checked and it appears to be as though I have not updated this story since _October._ That would be because _somebody_ *glares at co-author* didn't write their part of the story when they needed to. Hopefully we can get this train back on the tracks. Thanks for reading, like and subscribe, leave a comment below, and tell us if you think of Einsteins theory about light being both a wave and a ****particles** **.**


	6. Meet-The-Teacher Day

**Alas, for I do not own the beautiful work of art that is Harry Potter.**

For the rest of the party, I was basically serving Petunia and Vernon's obnoxious friends. At the end of the party, when everyone had gone home and the sun was setting, I went out to the garden and lied down in the soft, green grass. I looked up to the brilliant colors in the sky, the quietness seeping in. I took in the fresh summer air and wished that it was always like this. Always quiet, always peaceful, always beautiful. I closed my eyes and relaxed.

I heard movement in front of me, but I resisted the urge to move and look at who it was. They lied down next to me.

"Hi." Harry said. I opened my eyes

"Hey." I said. We stayed in silence for some time. Finally, I broke the silence, "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Yeah. I like the orange." I smiled.

"This is kind of like the happy moments in life. They're beautiful, but they don't last long. Soon the sun will set to darkness." I thought of my father, of the Death Eaters. I felt Harry shudder beside me.

"But don't worry, Harry," I said, my voice soft, "The sun always rises again, and the sunset always comes."

I got up and brushed off my jeans. I helped Harry up and led him inside as it got dark. Petunia gave Harry a small loaf of bread, and gave me a bowl of tomato soup with some cucumbers on the side. I secretly gave Harry my cucumbers and half of my soup.

After I had put Harry and Dudley to sleep, I slipped in my own bed and sighed as I relaxed every muscle in my body and sank into a dream involving tongues, Muggles, extremely large bowler hats and people with red hair.

The next morning, I got up, and after a measly portion of cereal, I went outside to water the garden and avoid the scorching hot sun later in the day, and found a cat sitting on the brick wall outside the house. Had this cat been any other cat, say one that did not have markings around the eyes that exactly matched my old transfiguration teacher, I maybe would have gone over to the creature and petted it. But this cat was not any other cat. It was Professor McGonagall's animagus form, and I was in for either an earful, or some more very disapproving looks.

I got both. Lucky me. I followed Cat-McGonagall down our usual alley, and first got the disapproving looks. After a while of me looking down shamefully and her glaring, I said, "Professor, I made a mistake, and I'm really, really, super sorry, and all I can do is ask for forgiveness."

Then came the earful. "Young lady. Not very often does one have an opportunity like this, and you may have just completely ruined it for yourself. It's luck that you had the common sense to call the authorities and have them handle the situation. I will have you know that if you had been at Hogwarts when this occurred, you could have just been completely expelled. I am not sure I can trust you with such a big responsibility as being an animagus, and it's unlikely that the Ministry will even allow such a thing with this kind of offence on your record." She said this all in one breath, only pausing now to give me more disapproving glances. I found myself unable to look her in the eyes. I had disappointed my biggest mentor. This woman who had given me a place on the Quidditch team, even though I was a _Slytherin_ , even though I could have _lost_ Gryffindor the house cup, I had let down the woman who had helped me in my struggle in Herbology, the subject I had the most trouble with. How had this happened? How could Professor McGonagall look so crestfallen because of something _I_ had done?

"How can I make it up to you?" I muttered.

"Please don't make mistakes like this again." She turned on her heels and disapparated. I went back to the house, watered the garden, only half thinking about it. I made breakfast, still in zombie mode. Then I watched the kids. I snuck Harry food. I chastised Dudley. I kept my nose clean. And so the summer dragged on. Nothing terribly exciting happened. Professor McGonagall still came weekly as promised, but she seemed cold. Distant. She delivered the newspaper and left just as quickly as she came. The one time she actually spoke with me was approving Mrs. Dursley's offer for real money and half days during the school days. Spending the summer at a home where I was hardly loved, fed measly meals, and watched over younger children was no different from how I had spent my other summers. Again, I found myself really, really, wanting school to start again. Not for myself, but for Harry and Dudley, so I could have half a day off.

But the more I thought about the half days, having a place of my own, and living off Muggle money, the more I became weary. I had never lived by myself. Always with Dad and Mum, in our little cottage, or at Hogwarts, sitting in the deep green armchair that was rumored was Salazar Slytherin's himself. Nobody could ever prove this rumor, but it was fun to fantasize. When I wasn't at Hogwarts or our cottage, I was at the blasted orphanage.

I knew Dad had a place in London, and a considerable amount of gold to his name, so I didn't think finding a place would be hard. But still, living alone. Sleeping nights without other people nearby was a new concept. I would be fine. I always had.

I wish I could say something exciting happened. I learned why nobody wanted to be a nanny. It was either tediously boring, or you had squabbling children on your back.

It was in September when the meet-the-teacher day was. I feared for the teacher that had Dudley. But I had been chosen to meet the poor person who had teach that fat lump. And also meet the teacher who taught Harry.

The day came faster than I had expected. Five o'clock came faster than expected, and after frantically eating a hasty snack that would serve as dinner, I hopped in the steel contraption that Muggles called a car. Mrs. Dursley had to do a grocery run, so Harry, Dudley, and I a ride to the school. I had to learn how to drive this insane vehicle. It couldn't be that much harder than riding a broom, right?

"I'll be back at six thirty. Wait here." And she was off, leaving me and the kids at the front door of the primary school they were enrolled in. Many other kids and their parents were streaming into the school. Seeing all these people, I was surprised Mrs. Dursley had passed up this chance to gossip. Our little group of three followed the mass of people stampeding into the building and went to the little rickety table where two volunteers were sitting, handing out papers. We got in line, Dudley talking to some friends of his, and Harry trying not to be seen. The people sitting at the table handed me papers, which looked like a jumble of numbers and names and places which were impossible to interpret. "This one is for Dudley, and this is for Harry." They shoved the papers into my hands and shooed me along. This great mass of people seemed to know exactly what they were doing. But I was determined to get this right. For Harry. So using my Slytherin determination, I looked at the first paper. At the top it said, _Harry J. Potter, Mr. Schulenborg._ The rest of the paper detailed his classes, including something called 'Social Studies'. That sounded tortuous. Dudley's paper had similarly confounding subjects, like 'Science'. Muggles, so very strange.

"Alright. This is a primary school, not Hogwarts. Can't be to hard to navigate. Let's do this. Harry, the number for your teacher's classroom seems to be closer. That-a-way." I registered Dudley's whining about him not being first, and how Mummy _always_ took him to his teacher first.

The door to Mr. Shoulenborg's room was open, and a tall man in his late 20s, wearing dorky glasses and a plaid shirt. He beamed at us and shook my hand firmly. "Hello, its nice to meet you! My name is Mr. Schulenburg, and yours?"

"Angel Custos," I stammered, shocked by his friendly greeting, something I hadn't had for a while. He ushered Harry into his classroom and showed him around. Dudley pouted by my side, crossing his arms indignantly. Until a boy with what could only be described as a rat's face sauntered into the class. Dudley suddenly took on a more arrogant expression and strutted as much as his chubby legs would allow over to the boy. Rat-Face caught sight of Harry, and his eyes, which could very well have been red, narrowed.

Harry must have seen Rat-Face as well, because suddenly he lost interest in Mr. Shoulenborg's exuberant explanation of King George III and the Revolutionary War. I knew how awful Dudley bullied Harry at home, and something told me that he was no nicer at school. And now he had his lackey at his side. I swooped down next to Harry and told Mr. Schulenborg, and said, "I'm sorry, but we have other teachers to visit. Harry will see you at the beginning of the school year." He nodded and I took Harry by the shoulder, and called Dudley. He scowled at me, but followed anyways. Rat-Face followed, and I overheard some of their conversation as they pushed each other playfully around the hallway.

"I can't wait," Dudley said.

"I know! The look on his face is going to be priceless."

"Piers, do you think we should add some… spice?" They _giggled_. Harry seemed to internally crumble, folding into himself into a black hole, the poor kid. Piers looked like the kind of person who held the victim's arms behind their back while Dudley punched them. "I'll get the shirt," Dudley said, "you get the itching powder. Get it to me by the first day of school, it's the best opportunity. Everyone will remember." More giggling. I didn't think they knew I could here them, but their conversation of malevolentness was cut off by an old woman who looked as though she haddn't smiled in centuries. Her name tag read: Mrs. DeVos.

"Are you," she pushed up her cat eye glasses that were attached to a chain around her neck. "Dudley Dursley?" She peered at Dudley, and he said, "Yeah whatever, that's me." Clearly he was unafraid of this old woman with white hair pulled into a tight bun. "Good." She grabbed his arm and practically dragged him to a table, showing a surprising amount of stretch for a woman of her age. Piers cackled, as Mrs. DeVos said, "This is where you will be sitting at the start of school. I hope you're all caught up on geometry, because that's what we'll be starting with." She started giving off completely different vibes than that of a first impression, her no-nonsense attitude showing. She was not going to stand for Dudley antics. Speaking of which, the boy looked shell shocked at being dragged across the room, then lectured in all the things they would be learning. I started grinning, thinking of a professor I had at Hogwarts, with a tight bun and thin lips pressed tight, who reminded me quite a lot of this primary school teacher. "Young lady, what are you smiling about?" Her attention snapped to me, and I replied, "You remind me of a professor I had at school. My favorite teacher." Her thin lips curled into what could have been called a smile, and then she continued lecturing about maths and shapes and learning.

I had no intentions of prying Dudley away from this… intriguing character, put Harry tugged on my sleeve and said, "Last year they said the art teach was retiring. I want to see who's teaching this year. Can we go see?"

"Yeah, alright. Dudley! Let's go see the art teacher!" He pulled himself away from the old woman, who pushed up her glasses and nodded at me. "Harry, lead the way." I expected him to march out ahead, but he mostly tried very hard not to be seen in his over sized clothes. He had destroyed Lord Voldemort, yet he couldn't even walk the halls of his Muggle school without cowering behind me.

We walked into the art room, where several kids and parents were milling around, looking at the colorful works of art on the walls and descriptions of fancy art vocabulary hanging from the ceiling, yet no teacher seemed to stand out. Then a young woman in a smock covered in paint walked out from a closet carrying a crate of paint brushes, looking over her shoulder and talking to a student behind her. "-I got my college degree and got hired here," she was saying. I looked closer at her short dusty brown hair, delicate features, and purposeful strides and recognized the new art teacher.

"Mallory?" I asked. She turned around at the sound of her name, and recognition flashing across her face, smiled broadly, by far her best feature. Mallory had been a year ahead of me at Hogwarts, and every aspiring Slytherin's dream. She didn't let anybody tell her what to do, which included instructing her not to drop out of school to live as a Muggle. Why she wanted to give up a job at the Ministry, something she could have secured easily, was beyond me, but she had her mind set. Whatever opposers said, she had a dream, and no teacher was ever going to take that away. So a year before she was set to take her N.E.W.T.'s, she dropped out. And here she was, happy with her new, very non-wizard job.

"Angel! Man, it's so good to see you!" She dropped her cart of paint brushes and wrapped her arms around me, something I had not expected, but wasn't going to object to. After giving me a firm squeeze, she turned to Harry, gasping slightly. "Oh. My. Gosh. Is this? Is he? Angel, please tell me this isn't-"

"The very same."

"Harry Potter," she breathed. "I am going to have Harry Potter in my art class." Leaning back on the balls of her feet, she took him in, standing by my side, clearly confused as to why he was given the attention. Dudley seemed to be wondering this to, becuase he announced loudly, "I'm Dudley Dursley."

"Yeah, cool," Mallory said, barely giving him a glance.

Dudley was not pleased. "I was our last art teacher's favorite student."

"I'm not your last art teacher. I'm Miss Knox. Pleased to meet you, Mister Potter." She held out her hand, and Harry took, looking very, very, befuddled. "Dudley." Mallory nodded at Dudley and shook his hand, then put her arms around both of their shoulders and said, "I'll show you two boys around the best room in the school. Come on! This is the color wheel, and over here is the free draw station, this tray is for colored pencils, and this over here-" she went around the room, showing off every nook and cranny.

It felt good to see a familiar face again. And knowing Harry was in safe hands took a huge weight off my chest. After she had finished explaining every speck of dust in the room, she walked over to me, posture perfect, head held high. Harry and Dudley were drawing over at the free draw station, so Mallory was free to talk. "Angel Custos, why did you just bring the boy who lived into my classroom?"

"Long story short, I'm sorta kinda his nanny."

"Did you not get the memo I was trying to _avoid_ wizards?"

"But you were happy to see him," I pointed out.

"You to would be happy if the boy who took out You-Know-Who when he was just one walked into your classroom. That was the whole reason I tried to escape magic. Because it does horrible things to a person, the power can drive you mad. I didn't want to end up like him."

"Careful Mallory, that's some Ravenclaw wisdom right there. Wouldn't want to be driving away from Slytherin now would we?"

"Oh, shut up," she said, but smiled and shoved me playfully. "What about that other boy? Dudley. He seems _awful_."

"Oh he is." I sighed. "You have no idea. It's all I can do not to jinx him into a pig."

"Do you still practice magic?"

"A little bit. I try not to, living in a house full of Muggles. It's just too risky to pull out my wand."

A ringing came from the desk in the corner of her room, and she pulled on the receiver and put it to here ear and said, "Mallory Knox, art room, how may I help you?" She sounded so formal, very different from the causal Mallory I had heard just seconds before. "Alright. Thank you, yes, I'll be right there." She put the phone down. "Sorry Angel, front office needs me." She pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something down, then handed the slip to me. "That's my phone number. If you need anything, _especially_ a night off, call me." She ran out of the room, radiating energy and power. I remembered being a first year and looking up to her, thinking that _she_ was the kind of person I wanted to be when I grew up.

We met back up with Mrs. Dursley at six thirty, ate dinner, and went to bed. Or most people did. As it had become ritual, I snuck down to Harry's cupboard. He was waiting for me when I got there, his brain bouncing with questions. "How did Miss Knox know my name?"

"I'm sure she just had it on her roster." I handed Harry a waffle to distract him, but my efforts were in vain.

"She seemed very excited to see me, but I had never met her." He chewed his waffle thoughtfully.

"She could see what a bright student you are." Already halfway done with his waffle, I handed him another.

"It still doesn't make sense. But you knew her. Is she a friend of yours?"

"Yes. We lived in the same dorm for a while. She dropped out of school to follow her dreams. Very focused on her goals, that girl is."

"Hmm. I liked Mr. Schulenburg. He seemed nice."

"I'm sure he'll be great. School starts in a week. You better get your rest." I found myself really wanting to avoid conversation about school, because that meant I couldn't keep my eyes on Harry his every waking moment. I had grown very protective of him, less because he had taken down evil, and more because I got to know him better as a person. I hoped I would still know him when he was at Hogwarts, learning magic and doing great things.

"Hey." He grabbed my wrist as I attempted to slip away from the cupboard. "Why are you avoiding talking to me about school?" He looked at me with those green eyes that you couldn't help but look into. I shrugged. "I don't know. But it's time for bed. I'll see you in the morning." I wriggled from his grasp and ninja crept up to my room, where I had dreams about saving young Harry from Lord Voldemort, Mallory at my side. I couldn't tell if it was a wish or a warning.

Soon, Harry and Dudley's first day of school came. Petunia dressed up Dudley like a prince, combing his blonde hair to perfection and buttoning his fat stomach in a jacket that looked like it wanted to pop. Harry was given one of Dudley's old shirts, it was green and had a plaid pattern. It had numerous stains of Merlin knows what and a hole in the sleeve. Fuming, I buttoned it up for Harry, who was fumbling with the buttons.

I ran my fingers gently through Harry's hair, trying to get his messy hair into submission. I failed. I tried again, with water this time. I failed again. I used gel. Same result. I didn't get a comb, because Petunia would be very cross.

As I was wrestling with Harry's hair, he gripped my hand before I could run my gel-covered fingers in his hair again. He looked at me with his green eyes and said, "Nothing ever works. It's always like this."

I put my hand down and said, "Well then, I guess you have some interesting hair there, _Hairy._ "

I chuckled at my joke, and Harry looked at me like I was mad. I soon stopped laughing and said, "If that little brat does anything to you, Harry, anything at all-"

"Don't worry, Angel, I'm used to it. He does this all the time." he said. He turned to leave and I said, "Aren't you going to take your backpack?"

"Oh yeah." Harry turned and opened the cupboard, and climbed in. After a few seconds of rummaging, he came back with a few books strapped together with a belt.

"Bye." he said, and turned away. Petunia got the car keys and kissed Dursley on the cheek. She opened the door, and as Harry was approaching, Dudley shoved Harry out of the way and ran outside to the car, laughing. Petunia looked at Harry in disgust and told him to hurry up. Harry got up and miserably went out. Petunia slammed the door behind her.

"Bye." I whispered, fury building inside me. One day, I would make the Dursleys wish they never existed. One day I would make them pay.

 **Is** **malevolentness a word? I'm not sure. Tell us your thoughts below. Like, comment, and subscribe. And use the Oxford Comma.**


	7. The First Adventures of Roommates

**If I said I owned Harry Potter I would be lying. Sadly.**

Soon after the kids had left, Petunia came back.

"That was quick, Mrs. Dursley." I said. I was in the kitchen, washing the dishes.

"Yes, well, you can stop doing the dishes. It's about time you leave." she said, plopping the car keys down on the counter.

I dried my hands and turned around. Petunia was sitting on a chair, removing her peach high heels.

"I haven't found a place to stay yet. Could I possibly stay with you until I do?" I asked, grabbing the car keys and her high heels.

"Absolutely not. You have had your time, and God knows what you have been doing then." she said.

 _Taking care of your idiotic lump of a child._ I thought, and put away her shoes and keys.

"Today is your last day in this house, Angel, start packing." Petunia said, and she got up and went out to her garden.

When she was out of visual range I stuck my tongue out at her. Frowning, I ran up to my room. I closed the door gently behind me as I looked over at my small room. I went over to my bed and got my suitcase. It was a normal Muggle suitcase. I'd never understood how other wizards had made the insides of their Muggle suitcases bigger. I was still working on that, but I wasn't good at it. I could only make it bigger by an inch or two. After that, it would explode. So I figured if I wanted to practice, I'd better do it when I'm not dependant on it.

After I had packed all my clothes and my magical books and my wand into my small suitcase, I made the bed and clleaned up the room. I glanced at the bottom of my-well, it wasn't mine exactly anymore-bed, and I crouched down. I pulled on the loose floorboard and took out the food I had very recently stashed in there. It was another sandwich and a green apple. I turned the apple in my hand to see if it hadn't gone bad. Luckily, it was still lively green and there wasn't a spoiled spot in sight. I shoved the apple in my jacket pocket and got the sandwich. I stood up and walked to the door, then turned back and looked at my room once more. This was the last night I'd sleep in this room. No, I didn't even have that much time. I was expected out by tonight. I turned back, but my hand hesitated on the doorknob. I glanced back, and a white whip caught my eye. How could I have missed that? I went over to the paper to throw it away, but found the content of the paper intriguing. A phone number. Mallory's phone number. She had said anything...No, that was absurd. Roommates? Not going to happen. I shook my head and opened the door. _It doesn't hurt to try, though..._

I went down the stairs and peered out into the garden, where Petunia was still tending to her flowers, and occasionally glancing over the fence to spy on her neighbours. She wouldn't notice if I slipped a little sandwich into Harry's cupboard. I opened the door to the cramped storage space, and climbed inside. Checking around to see where to hide the food, I found a shelf where there were small figures of soldiers and horses lined up. I took a few out of place and placed the sandwich and apple there. I put the soldiers back. If Harry came in here, he would see it, but if Vernon or Petunia looked in from the outside, they wouldn't have been able to see it.

As I was about to climb out, something dangled down. At first I thought it was the cord for the light, but then I saw eight legs sprout out and I suffered a mini heart attack. It was a spider. I am _terrified_ of spiders. I slowly ducked under it. How could Harry possibly _sleep_ here? They could crawl on his face and get into his hair and- no, I was over reacting. Harry was brave enough to live with a few spiders, I reassured myself. I sure wasn't.

I closed the door slowly and went out to the garden, waving merrily at Mrs. Figg, the strange old cat lady, who was crossing the street with a plastic bag in hand. She was a bit strange, but smiled back and waved. Mrs. Dursley did not seem to like this very much, and hissed at me to get on my way. She gave a long line of chores, which didn't take a small amount of time to complete, let me tell you. By the time I was done, Harry and Dudley were home and it was almost time for dinner. Harry was sitting outside in the garden, doing Dudley's and his homework. I glanced at the telephone. Mallory's phone number popped in my head. If she said no, I always had a place at my ancestral home, right? Right. I hesitantly picked up the receiver and dialed the number. It rang once. Twice. Thrice.

I was just about to hang up when Mallory answered.

"Mallory Knox, how may I help you? Sorry, I was sort of away from the phone. Who is this?" she shot away, again intriguing me by her formality.

"Hi, Mallory? It's Angel." I could hear a smile in her voice as she answered.

"Angel! Hey! What do you need?" I chewed my bottom lip.

"A place to stay."

"Oh. Not what I was expecting. But sure! I have plenty of space in my flat!"

I breathed a silent breath of relief and happiness.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I have one condition, though."

"Yeah?"

"No magic."

I went silent. So did she.

"I'm sorry?" I said, not sure if I'd heard her right.

"Yeah. No magic. It's… it's complicated." She went serious for a second there, but soon became her cheerful self again.

"But anyways, when are you coming over?"

"Tonight."

I wasn't even given _dinner_. As I got my suitcase and went to the door, Harry came, tears in his eyes. He hugged me and said, "I don't want you to go."

I ruffled his hair and said, "Hey, I'll still be here, just not at night. Don't worry, Harry. I'll never leave you."

Harry nodded and let go. He turned around, and I saw the back of his neck. It was beet red. My breath was knocked out of me.

" _Harry._ " I said his name with such force, I startled even myself. He jumped and turned around, eyes wide, "What's wrong?"

I looked at him with my best piercing stare and said, "What did Dudley do? And _don't lie to me._ "

Harry's gaze dropped to the ground. He was silent. I bent down and gently grabbed his wrists and repeated myself, "What did Dudley do?"

Harry mumbled something incoherently.

"What?" I asked, and Harry looked at me and said, "Itching powder."

I blinked and let go of Harry's wrists. I looked into the dining area, where Dudley was eating like a pig, stuffing chicken and bread and juice into his big mouth. I glared at him, and let me just say, if I hadn't had my magic under control, I might have another meeting with the Minister for Magic.

I looked back at Harry and said, "Do you know where he got said powder?"

Harry's eyes widened as he understood what I was going to do. He shook his head frantically. I said, "Fine. Don't tell me. But I _will_ make him pay, Harry. I will."

I kissed him on the top of his head and turned and went outside. A car was waiting for me, in which Mallory was sitting in the front seat. I climbed inside the car on the other side after stuffing my suitcase in the trunk of the car, and Mallory. "What?" I asked and she said, "Guess we're roomies now, eh? Well, I guess not _roomies_ , but more like flatmates."

"I guess." I said, shrugging my shoulders. She nudged my arm and said, "The first thing we need to do is make you more accustomed to Muggles."

I shrugged again. She rolled her eyes and said, "The first thing, we need to make you more fun. Let's go see a movie."

"A movie?"

She nodded and started the car.

"But first, we should probably go to the flat first."

I nodded and away we went.

The flat was like a mini number 4 Privet Drive, with a little living room, a little kitchen, a little bathroom, and two little bedrooms. Mallory showed me to my room, and said, "Get comfy. I'll be back in a few once you make yourself at home." She closed the door, and I sat on the bed, similarly to how how I had entered my last new room. I set my suitcase down and got off the bed to put all my clothes away. Mallory came back and I thanked her again, she waved it away, and led me back to the mass of metal.

"What do you want to see?"

"Erm, I don't know what there is to see."

"A Disney movie?" I shrugged. "Great. The Little Mermaid is out. I've really been waiting to see it, perfect." And so we went to go see The Little Mermaid. I must admit, it was pretty good. A red head mermaid who wanted to be a human, kind of like a certain dusty-haired witch who wanted to be a Muggle. Except the dusty-haired witch didn't have an array of sea creatures to sing to her. While it seemed she hated magic, she was not beyond shunning Hogwarts all together. We had a fiery debate about putting the different characters into Hogwarts houses. We put Ariel into Slytherin, because of her ambitions to be human, and her willingness to do anything about it. That sounded very Slytherin-ish to us. The café Mallory took me to next was the very acute of Muggle life. Small, cozy, yet enormously busy. We had tea, and laughed and talked, and couldn't wait to do it again.

That was a life I could live with. I could almost see the appeal Mallory saw in this life. But without magic? A person manually picked, dried, and packaged that tea. So much work had been put into making the tables clean. It seemed like an awful waste of time. The reward was higher, I supposed. You got a different amount of satisfaction, I learned in the following weeks, from cleaning the dishes (of your own free will) than just waving a wand or having a house elf do it for you. It really made you appreciate everything, like making your bed. It really looked nice, maybe not as perfect as with magic, but the work was the important. I could see the same pride go into a work of art, like playing an instrument. I had never played one myself, but I had been to see an orchestra when I was very young, and the instruments had no player, just several wizards and witches orchestrating with their wands. I supposed it would be much more influential if real people had been playing. All that work, gone into making a masterpiece.

All of this would have been just enough crazy thoughts bouncing around my head if it hadn't been for an entrance sense of paranoia. I could swear I saw Death Eater mask, or a swish of a black cloak, or the crack of a spell. I started carrying my wand with me everywhere, in a pocket, down my boot, in a shirt sleeve. I feared about sharing this with Mallory, because I knew how she felt about magic, but it became to real, and it must have started showing, because she asked. "Something seems to have you a bit… different lately."

"Well… no, it's to crazy." I shook my head and sat down across the table. After Mrs. Dursley started paying me real money, I contributed to the rent, and some food. Tonight we had a wonderful meal of Chinese takeout.

"Hey. Share, will you?"

"I think I'm seeing things, but I'm sure it's just that stuff you put in my tea last week." I smiled at my joke.

Mallory laughed. "I would never. But in all seriousness, something is bothering you, and I will find out what it is."

"I think Death Eaters are following me."

"Oh?"

"I know, it sounds crazy. But can you please look after Harry at school? I just worry…"

"I'll keep an eye on him."  
"Thanks." And the conversation was over. I didn't bring it up again, and neither did she. I went to the Dursleys every day after three o'clock, and left before seven, then spend the whole day on weekends. I still snuck Harry food, and I still met McGonagall weekly, although I didn't bring up my concern.

One Saturday morning, I left for number four Privet Drive and Mrs. Dursley's was waiting from me at the front steps. "I've just gotten news of my cousins wedding. It will be on Tuesday, and I'll need you to take Dudley and Harry out of school. Harry will spend the day at Mrs. Figgs. Understood?" I nodded, and she turned her back. Why did I have to bend to this woman's will? It just wasn't right. With every fiber of my being, I wanted to put a jelly-legs jinx on the entire family, then take Harry to the Caribbean, or somewhere nice like that. But that wouldn't happen just yet. I had windows to clean, and a spoiled brat to watch.

Sunday was pay day, Monday was boredom day, and Tuesday was the wedding. I pulled on my favorite green and silver sweater, and walked to the school, it wasn't too far from Mallory's flat, and once again, felt as though I was being followed. But the streets were too crowded and too many people heading in the same direction as I to see if this was just me being paranoid, or real fear.

When I got to the school, a placid, unsmiling man with strange clothes opened the door for me. He let me go first to the front desk, and the woman with blonde hair and heavy make up looked up at me and said, in a deadpan, "How can I help you?"

"Erm, I'd like to take Dudley Dursley and Harry Potter out of school for a wedding please."

"Do you have any identification?"

"Erm, no, but if you bring them out I'm sure they would recognize me."

"Alright. I'll call their teachers." I sat down in one of the chairs, and the man walked up. And whispered something to the receptionist. She nodded, and picked up the receiver, calling for Harry Potter, then Dudley Dursley. I got the strangest feeling from the strange man and blonde receptionist. They seemed to know each other, and not in a good way. The placid man sat across from me and picked up a parenting magazine.

A few minutes later, Mallory came in with Harry and Dudley. She smiled at me, but her smile faded as the unsmiling man and receptionist stood. My hand went to my coat pocket, where I had stashed my wand. The man reached down into his boot and pulled out a thin stick. A wand. More importantly, his sleeve rode up on his arm, and I saw the pictures of the dark mark. Death Eaters. I saw a wand slide out of her sleeve and come into her hand. My own wand entered my own hand, and I stopped thinking. I didn't think of Harry, or Dudley, or Mallory, or the random teacher who stumbled upon us.

I knew in an instant they were here for Harry. They lifted their arms, pointing wands at Harry. An overwhelming sense of protection came over me. I would do anything to protect this boy, and was just about to do that anything, when a blast of purple light came from behind me. It slammed into the woman, who crumpled into a heap, and I whipped behind me to see where the purple light had come from.

Mallory stood in front of Harry, wand raised, head held high. I didn't even know she still had her wand, much less kept it with her. I was shocked. She turned to me and said, "Take him and go," Dudley's jaw was on the floor, and Harry looked like a deer stuck in the headlights. The teacher that had come up to the front office was looking similarly shocked, and the man seemed to break out of his own shock and once again pointed his wand at Harry.

I followed Mallory's instructions, picking up Harry and running. "What's going on!" Harry yelled as a spell ricochet off the well.

"It's hard to explain, but we need to get into this classroom." I ushered him into the empty classroom, and said, "Sit here." I pointed to the corner, but he wasn't having it.

"Why? Tell me."

"Like I said, it's hard to explain. And also not my place to say." I was past the point of hiding magic, so I pointed my wand at the door and locked it with a click. "Can you trust me?"

"Yes, but-"

"But what? You saw what happened. It doesn't make sense yet, but unless you want to die, I would trust me. Got it?" He nodded, and we heard more spells come from the office, and a shriek that could only have been the muggle teacher.

A bang came from the other side of the door. The lock broke. I took a deep breath and gripped my wand, standing directly in front of Harry. The man pushed open the door, cuts down his face and arms, and lifted his own arm to match my own. From behind, I saw Mallory stagger, point her wand, we all took a breath simultaneously, and I saw three separate shots of light from each of our wands. Mallory and my own blue light hit the wizards, and the wizard's red spell hit me, pain flooded every nerve ending in my body, and that was all I could remember.


	8. Eight Months Later

I woke up, my head pounding. I could only hear a loud high-pitched ringing, nothing else. I tried to open my eyes but they were too heavy to move. Slowly, the ringing quieted, and I heard muffled sounds. I couldn't quite make out what it was, but I realized it was someone talking.

I concentrated for a while, trying to make out what the voice was saying. I realized after a while they were whispering. I felt something on my leg. A hand. Suddenly, the voice became clear.

"...all my fault. How could I ever live with myself? My fault. Dammit, all mine."

I recognized the owner of the voice as Mallory. I opened my eyes and whispered, "No it's not."

Mallory jerked back and stood up. She turned around and yelled, "SHE'S AWAKE! OH THANK GOD, SHE'S AWAKE!"

In the four seconds before I was surrounded by healers and nurses, I recognized the place I was as St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I was in a bed, and now I was surrounded by people with a wand and bone crossed on there lime green robes.

"Can you see clearly?"

"Does it hurt anywhere?"

"Open your eyes wider for me, please."

"Nurse Fuglehorn, get me this potion, please."

"This is a miracle!"

I was ambushed with questions and comments, and I was given potions to drink, and test to perform. After 2 hours or so of this, they finally left me alone, saying that I should rest and let the potions take effect. During this time, I got many visitors. Almost all of them were old Hogwarts peers. I also took a good look around the room. It was small, with white walls and two chairs off to the side, in the corner away from my bed. There was a door that led to somewhere. I wasn't allowed outside yet.

After the reunion with so many of my most favorite enemies and all of my older friends who I'd lost contact with, Mallory came and sat on the edge of my bed. She was dead serious, her gaze forward.

"The nurses didn't think you where looking so good. All the spells, every potion in the book. Nothing worked," she whispered. I sat up and stared at her. She looked towards me, looking me in the eye, "They were going to…"

She trailed off on that last word and took a shaky breath. She looked down at her hands, and a tear fell from her eye.

"I've never told you this, but you're like a sister to me, Angel. Even in Hogwarts, I always got this feeling around you," she said, "But obviously my friends didn't want me to associate with a student a whole year younger than us."

She said that phrase like she was mimicking her friends. She looked up and stared across the room at the wall.

"I didn't care how young you were. You had a promising aura. I just felt like you were… something." she said.

"You sound like Trelawney," I muttered. Mallory smiled and chuckled softly.

"I couldn't let them just… I mean, you were out for eight months…" she said. I nodded. Then I reran that sentence in my head and said, "Eight months." Slower, feeling the words around my tongue. "Eight months. But… what about Harry? Did Professor McGonagall say anything? What about your job? Heck, what about my job? How did this-"

"Calm down!" Mallory said, "Harry's fine, McGonagall dropped by weekly, but she didn't say anything, my job is still working out ok, and I altered the Dursleys' and Harry's memories of you. You never existed to them."

"Harry doesn't remember me? Can I at least go back to him?" I asked, and Mallory's silence spoke a million words. I sank into my bed, thinking of the torture Harry had to endure for eight months, without anyone to help him. Without anyone to avenge him. That sounded over dramatic, but I still wanted to get back at the Dursleys for what they put him through. I looked at Mallory.

"Why can't I go back?" I asked.

"If you go back, there's a chance you'll trigger the memories of Harry and Dudley. We can't let that happen since they witnessed magic. They might be traumatized for the rest of their lives, Angel. I'm sorry." Mallory said, solemn.

"Who's going to protect him, then? Who protected him for the past eight months? Tell me!" I said, a bit more forcefully than necessary.

"Harry can protect himself, Ang-"

"No he can't! He's too kind, too… too good to defend himself! He can defend others without a doubt, but he will never defend himself! And one day that might kill him!" I shouted, and covered my face with my hands. Mallory got up and left the room, leaving me with the pounding silence.

About 2 weeks of testing, experiments, and questions by some very unfriendly Aurors, I was free to go. But where to go to? Back to Mallory's flat? It just didn't feel right.

Despite that, Mallory was my escort. We Apparated back to her flat. She helped me to my room, where I plopped down on the bed. She stood in the doorway, an imposing figure.

"McGonagall said she's coming tomorrow." Mallory said. I scoffed and said, "Great. I get another free lecture."

Mallory smiled and said, "Oh come on. At least it's not Snape."

I laughed and said, "Yeah, he'd probably tell me to 'Define the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane.'"

"They're both the same thing!" Mallory and I said at the same time. We laughed for a while. It was nice to laugh. Mallory soon went out of the room, leaving me to my free thoughts.

I thought about Harry, Dudley and Hogwarts. I thought about Death Eaters, the Dursleys and muggle school. I thought about whatever my mind threw my way until I nodded off to sleep, dreaming about flashes of red and children screaming. Just the same as it had been for eight months and 2 weeks.

Professor McGonagall arrived at the crack of dawn. I hadn't even put any decent clothes on, when I opened the door to a green robed figure. She smiled when she saw me, and when I ushered her to the living room, she said, "I'm glad your back, Ms. Custos. Ms. Knox mentioned you still wanted to watch Harry. Is that true?"

"Yes, Professor, but they said I couldn't see him in case I triggered his memories."

"This is true, although, if he saw you as something else, they maybe he wouldn't remember."

"Are you suggesting… Polyjuice Potion?" I was puzzled.

"Partially yes. Can you call Ms. Knox? My plan requires the both of you."

Mallory had just fumbled out of her bedroom as I walked to the door. Her hair was a mess this Saturday morning. "McGonagall is here. She want to talk to us. I suggest you," I waved a hand at her hair and she nodded. "Give me a few seconds," she muttered.

When she arrived back into the living room, her hair was reasonably tamed, and eyes much brighter. Professor McGonagall motioned for her to sit, and I could tell she didn't appreciate being told to sit down her own home. But McGonagall was McGonagall, and you sat when you were told to sit.

"Ms. Knox, Ms. Custos, I believe you both should continue to watch Mr. Potter. As Hogwarts students."

"Woah," was all Mallory said. I felt the same.

"Which students?" I asked.

"Well, actually, it's two Muggle girls from Yorkshire, but you can pose as students."

"Okay…."

"You will be Slytherin students watching as often as necessary. And because you'll be in Slytherin, and Harry, following the Potter legacy will most likely be in Gryffindor, one of you will need to be nearer to him. I suggest this be Angel. She will take the Animagus potion and if it's needed, Ms. Knox will also assist you." She pulled out a bottle and a leaf, similar to the one she had showed me when offering the position over 10 months ago. "I suggest you start the process two days from now. The day before the start of next month is then. Don't worry about getting registered, I will take care of it. I will come on the day before the start of term with the polyjuice potion at noon."

"Woah," I expressed

"Yeah. Woah," Mallory agreed.

"How will you get ingredients for the polyjuice?"

"Professor Snape might be potions master, but I have a healthy talent for potions myself. I will provide the potion. You don't have to use it every hour, only when absolutely necessary. Oh, and one more thing. You must recite this spell every day-Amato Animo Animato Animagus." She said her goodbyes, handed me the bottle, and left.

For the rest of the next month, we had a leaves on our tongues. It was really hard not to swallow it in our sleep, so I had to stay half awake for it to actually work. I'm not sure if Mallory got good sleep or not. Let me just say, if you sleep like that for a whole month, you get some lousy sleep. Every morning we woke up and said, with difficulty, 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus'. I just hoped it wouldn't backfire on us.

Eating was the hardest task to do. In the end, we had decided that we should eat soft foods like bananas and stuff, like old people. It wasn't fun. We had to hold the leaf down on our tongues using one thumb and then use the other hand to help us eat. The same thing occured while drinking anything. We would spill and drop more than we'd actually eat anything.

Finally, the day before July first came, me waking up and saying the incantation. I went out to the living room and heard Mallory in her bedroom, saying the same thing. She came out of the bedroom, and had a beaming expression on her face.

"Why are you so happy?" I said, but it came out as, "Whay all yoo sho happae?" By now, we'd gotten used to it and understood everything as to what the other person said.

"This is it. This is the day we see if we're Animagi or not." Mallory said. That realization hit me like a Bludger.

"Hell. It is, isn't it?" I asked and sat down on the sofa. I didn't even eat breakfast or shower that morning as I waited patiently for Professor McGonagall to come. As soon as the clock struck noon, there was a rapping at the door. I opened it to find Professor McGonagall, who suddenly adopted a distasteful look as soon as she saw me.

"Ms. Custos, it would have been appropriate to wear something else than your pyjamas for today." Professor McGonagall said. Mallory came as well, also in her pyjamas. I looked back at her and said, "We should change." She nodded and ran to her room. I led McGonagall in and she sat on the sofa as I quickly changed into something more formal. I wore jeans, a white shirt and a grey blazer, which seemed to please Professor McGonagall. Mallory came out wearing black pants, a t-shirt that had some sort of old Muggle band named 'AC/DC' and a denim jacket.

"This is by far, the most difficult part of the process. It takes a considerable amount of willpower and magic. Now, take the leaves out of your mouth, and repeat the incantation one more time."

We did.

Nothing happened.

Did we do something wrong?

"Now we wait," Professor McGonagall said, crossing her arms and getting comfortable.

"For how long?" I asked, feeling very scammed.

"The harder you concentrate, the faster it goes."

"But what about the mag-"

"Getting angry does not help the process, Ms. Knox."

"I'm not angry, I just don't like it. I mean, what are we even suppose to be concentrating on? The spot on the wall?"

"Nah, the answer is probably going to be "one's inner soul" or something of that sort," I said. To my surprise, McGonagall laughed. "Very close, Ms. Custos. I would say more, getting in touch with your spirit animal. You both know about Patronuses?"

"Yeah, but they're terribly hard to conjure. I've never gotten anything more than a wisp," I said. I was top of my class, but Patronuses just were not for me.

"Me too. Are you saying our Patronus animal is the same as our Animagus form?"

"Yes, precisely. Now, I'll leave you two, send me an owl when you've figured it out." The corners of her mouth twitched like she had just told a funny joke no one else got. She smiled and left.

Mallory was not pleased. "This is so disappointing," she exclaimed and threw herself down on the couch.

"Well at least we can talk and eat normally now. I would puke if I ate another banana." I sat down next to her as she nodded forlornly. I got an idea, and said, "I bet you three knuts I can do it first." She grinned.

"Make it three Sickles and we have a deal." We shook on it, and the competition began.

First it was just sitting in chairs, trying to "concentrate on our inner animal". But then it was lunch time and we wanted some real food. The restaurant we went to, Speedy's, had very good food, better than bananas, but not as good as Hogwarts. I also had a strong suspicion the server was a pickpocket.

We went to bed, still trying to find out inner animal. Harder than it sounded. But I slept better than I had in weeks.

That was, until, a great weight fell on my chest, jerking me away from unconsciousness. A great, furry, sandy, furball seemed to have landed right on top of me. I was so scared, a sharp cold seemed to pierce every pore in my body. I gave a yell of fright, but all that came out was a hoot. A hoot. The cold. I looked down at my arms and saw, not arms, but great, strong, wings. I hooted again, this time triumphant, for I had changed first!

I looked closer at the fur ball. My vision had sharpened in the dark, and I could see 10 times better than I ever had before. The fur ball was moving, and it seemed to have legs. On closer inspection, it looked like a cat. What was a cat doing in our flat? Then it clicked. This cat had the same sandy brown hair as Mallory, almost the exact same color. Mallory was the cat. I had not, in fact, changed first. With a soft pop, Mallory changed back into her human form, smirking at me with a gloating look.

"Three Sickles, please." She held out her hand, and I concentrated on my human self, and with a pop, was back to me. Rolling my eyes, I reached into the dresser beside me and pulled out three Sickles. "What did I look like?" She asked, pocketing the silver.

"A cat with a squished up face," I said, sitting up next to my friend. "What about me?"

"An owl, I think. Big and white. I bet you'll be Harry's owl when he gets to Hogwarts. Speaking of which, let's write to Professor McGonagall. She'll need to register us." She pulled out paper and pen from her desk and started scribbling. "So, are you ready for a flight?" She turned and grinned at me, rolling up the paper.

"I'm new at this, but what the heck. Let's throw caution to the winds." I remembered that feeling of every cell in my body quivering and changing, and in now time at all, I was a great white owl. I lifted my wings (wings!) and pushed off from the ground towards the table.

I miscalculated my jump, and my head collided with the table with a sickening thud. "You alright?" Mallory asked, peering under the table. I wanted to rub the throbbing spot on my head, but my new joints wouldn't bed that way.

I walked back on my scaly legs and tried again. Success! I clicked my beak and stuck out my leg, like I had seen post owls do, and Mallory tied the letter to my leg. She wished me good luck, handed me some cereal, and opened the window. This couldn't be terribly hard, could it?

Unfortunately, it was. It took ten minutes to figure out how to get out of the window, then a few more to discover the secrets of staying aloft. I kept falling, unsure about how to gather momentum, but I was determined to not give up. Within the hour I was privy to the secrets that birds had kept for over a millennium. The wind streaming through my feathers, the tiny world below and the starry sky above, all of it amazingly spread out for as far as my amber eyes could see. The experience was exhilarating and exhausting.

Now…. To Hogwarts. I knew it was up north, Scotland, but I lived in London. I thought struck me. I was of age, and had a license to Apparate. Could I do it in this strange new form?

Concentrating on my every partial to will itself into Hogsmead, I imagined a snowy owl apparating at my destination. It was a trick that made, envisioning yourself in the place you wanted to be. It tended to get you there in one piece. With a soft pop I pressed myself into the suffocating tube that was Apparation.

My surroundings changed in an instant. I was in Hogsmead, and only a few people milling around the streets to see me. In the distance, a castle loomed, and I felt a distinct pull towards home. I pushed off again, soaring towards Hogwarts.

I wondered which window was Professor McGonagall's. Or where the post owls came in through the ceiling. Did McGonagall even live in the castle over the summer?

After swooping around and peering through all the windows, more for the pure fun of it than anything, the sun had started creeping into the sky. I spotted blinds being pulled open, and flew over to see Professor McGonagall in red robes, accepting a plate from a house elf. I tapped on the window, which she pulled open.

My unceremonious entrance was further marked by hitting my head on the lamp. Ouch.

"My goodness, who's owl is this?" McGonagall muttered as she bent over to take the scold tied to my leg. As soon as she had taken the string off my ankle, I turned back into my witch form. McGonagall jumped a little, and almost dropped the letter. "Miss Custos!" She yelped.

"Sorry Professor." There was an awkward pause, where I didn't know what to say. McGonagall shook her head and read the letter. After a few moments, she looked up, a proud gleam in her eyes.

"Congratulations, Ms. Custos. I will get you and Ms. Knox registered by tomorrow morning."

I nodded and turned back to the window, spreading my hands. I concentrated on my Animagus. What had Mallory said it was? An owl? I felt myself shrinking, feathers growing out of my body. In mere seconds I had transformed into an owl. I fluttered up to the windowsill, when suddenly, McGonagall called to me, "Ms. Custos! While you're at it, why don't you deliver Harry's letter?"

I nodded, or tried to at least, and McGonagall reached down on her desk and picked up a letter, which she gave to me. I grasped it in my beak, and took off. Again, my take off was shaky and I needed a few seconds of sheer panic to adjust.

As I flew over Hogwarts, a warm feeling filled my heart. I was at home. Not in human form, but still. I flew to Privet Drive, the sweet memories in my mind the whole journey.


	9. Letters

I spotted Number Four, Privet Drive as soon as I came close to the neighborhood. It was early morning, and the neighborhood was just waking up. The post man was walking around, dropping letters, and I took my opportunity, landing on the roof of Number Four. The post man had just walked off, heading to the next house. I ruffled my wings and soared down, dropping my letter on top of the pile. The post man glanced back, as though he had thought he had saw something, but I was already hidden in the early morning shadows. He turned back, thinking it a trick of the light.

I kept to my perch, hoping to get a glimpse of Harry. Sure enough, he opened the door and grabbed the letter, curiously examining it. He had probably never received a letter. Poor boy hardly got anything. I felt a great surge of sisterly protection towards him, wanting to land on his shoulder and nip his ear, show him a world beyond his wildest imagination. But, I reminded myself, that was what the letter would do.

Only after he closed the door did I fly off. Although I knew nothing about the maps of London, I could successfully navigate the streets, and get to Mallory's flat even though I have no idea where it is. It must be part of an owl's navigation skills.

I landed on the window ledge, gracefully, and a ginger cat met me, licking it's paws and flicking it's tail and watching some Muggle sport on the television. I tapped on the window and the cat looked up, stretched, and turned into my best friend before me eyes. She opened the window for me, and I landed next to her.

"How was your trip?" She asked as I changed back.

"Good. I delivered Harry's letter. He seems as hungry as ever." I scowled profoundly, and Mallory must have noticed, because she shrugged and said, "Let's celebrate. Tea?" I nodded, known as brew might do me good.

I took a closer look at my friend. Something seemed to be… wrong. "Mallory?" I asked, thinking I noticed the peculiarity. "What color is your hair?"

She pulled a strand, and without thinking said, "Brown." But she blinked, unsure of her answer.

"It looks more brandy," I said. A change was slowly spreading down to the tips of her once-brown hair.

"It looks… It looks like the color of your animagus. Sort of.. ginger, almost."

"Good, I never liked that dusty color." She layed back down on the couch, now littered with cat fur. "Do you think that will be my animagus mark thing? Like McGonagall has her glasses?"

"I guess so. I wonder what mine will be," I speculated, draping myself over an over stuffed armchair.

"That, probably," Mallory said, pointing. I follower her direction to my arms, where a map of black dots where spreading to my fingertips. "It looks just like the marks on the owl's wings."

"Wicked!" I exclaimed, examining the marks. They looked like large black freckles. They might raise eyebrows, but nobody would think to much of it. Backfired spells had some strange effects.

I recalled a particularly nasty one where a Gryffindor student was practicing transfiguring a locket into a pocket watch and turned his own hands to metal. One Muggleborn shouted something about a winter soldier, but I didn't really understand.

It was common for witches and wizards my age to carry spell marks, as our spells commonly backfired. No one would find anything unusual about it. A bit funny, perhaps, but not unusual.

As for Mallory's ginger hair, no one would give half a glance to it.

For the rest of the day, we practiced transforming. Our appearances gradually changed. I got streaks of white in my dark hair, and Mallory's hair made the complete transformation to ginger. I'm not sure, but I swear I saw her pupils get thinner.

Occasionally, Mallory would tease me, "Do you need some help there, grandma?" I'd swat her and we both would laugh.

We did this until the night settled into a deadly black. Then, we went to get some sleep. My dreams consisted of me flying over Hogwarts, feeling the cool air rush to my face, the breeze ruffling my feathers.

A few days past. Mallory and I had fun, joking around and transforming. She had to fill out a letter of resignation to the school, so she did that at night while I flew around

The next day, I woke up a grey cat with markings similar to glasses. I sat up, startled. The cat turned into McGonagall, who sat down on the corner of my bed.

"Profe-" I started, but was cut short.

"It seems, Ms. Custos, that these _Dursleys_ will not make Harry's life any easier."

I sighed, piecing together what might have happened.

"They stopped Harry from getting the letter?"

McGonagall nodded sternly. Then, the door opened, Mallory standing in the doorway.

"Let's get down to business."

I got out of bed, took a shower, and dressed. When I came out, I found McGonagall and Mallory having tea. McGonagall noticed me the second I came out the door and stood up with a swiftness I honestly didn't know she had.

"I will gather more Animagi and the owls at the Owlery. We shall bombard them with letters if we have to." She said, and I found a new sort of admiration for her and her determination. I smiled and nodded. Instead of flying, I got the extreme pleasure of Apparation. God, I hate it.

When we reached Hogsmeade, _that's_ when I turned into an owl and flew to the ledge of the Owlery and waited patiently. I heard voices, but not familiar ones. They seemed to be getting closer. I tried to remember if I'd heard them before, but couldn't recognize them. What were other people doing here at Hogwarts during the summer?

Then, two owls, a eagle and a tawny came in. That's when I realized that the voices belonged to them. I could understand what they were saying.

"Just because we're _animals_ doesn't mean we're _inferior_. We need to start an uprising, Phil, AN UPRISING!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Maxwell. They give us the fattest rats. I've got my eyes set on that tall red head's rat. I mean sure, it's lost a finger, but it's the fattest rat I've laid my eyes upon."

I fly over to them.

"Can you understand me?" I say-well, hoot. They look at me, and I can feel their attitudes radiating from their eyes.

"Of course we can, we're not _French._ " says the eagle owl, Maxwell.

"Don't be rude," says the tawny, Phil, "Yes we can perfectly understand you, why do you ask?"

"Sorry, it's just that I'm an Animagus, and I didn't know you cou-" I started, but I was cut off by Maxwell.

" _AH,_ so you're a human, eh? Mate, I've got a lot to say to you," Maxwell starts towards me. I slip off a ledge and frantically fly to another one. Maxwell flies after me, still spewing complains.

"Those Malfoys think I'm sort of _servant_. Am I house elf? No. I'm quite a handsome eagle owl, and yes, the elves groom me, and sometimes the wife grooms me _personally_ but yet they still treat me like a ball of dung!"

Phil flew after Maxwell and hooted loudly at him, "Maxwell! Stop pestering the poor child! She's not a Malfoy, so stop pressuring her," Phil turns around to me, "You're not a Malfoy, are you?"

I shake my head. Maxwell narrows his eyes at me and flies away.

"Thank you, Phil." I say.

"It's fine, Maxwell has a bigger ego than the Malfoys, and that's saying something." Phil chuckles. He soon bids me goodbye and flies away. I remember what I came here for and turn to the other thousands of Hogwarts owls.

"Hello, everyone." I say. No one hears me.

"HELLO, EVERYONE!" I said a bit loudly. Still no one hears me. Then, two cats stroll in. McGonagall and Mallory.

Mallory runs to the middle of the room and shouts in a very, very loud voice, "OI, THICKHEADS, PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL'S GOT A JOB FOR YOU LOT, SO LISTEN UP!"

All the owls freeze and swivel their heads towards Mallory, who smirks and says, "Yeah, thats right, I called you thickheads. Now listen to McGonagall. This is important."

McGonagall lept onto a perch of owl feed and cleared her throat. "I have a stack of letters outside. Each of you are to take one, no, each of you will take five letters. You will take them to Number four Privet Drive, and got them into the house any way possible. Don't be shy about it. And some of you, go find other owls to help out. We're going to need as many helping beaks as we can. Now chop chop, we haven't all day." Still, none of the owls moved, just grumbled and complained, rearranging their feathers.

"COME ON OWLS, THIS ISN'T HARD!" Shouted Mallory, and all the owls simultaneously leaped off if their perches I'm fear of being swatted down by the fluffy ginger cat. Some of them flew out the windows to get owls from other Wizarding families. The rest swooped outside to get letters from a now-human McGonagall and Mallory.

I followed the second group, and allowed Mallory to put five letters into my beak. "Goodluck, grandma," Mallory said, smirking. I would have said something snarky back, but my mouth had quite a lot of letters in it, and I couldn't let them go at all. Insidead, I rose up into the sky, clipping the tip of my wing on Mallory's head as I went.

I followed a swarm of owls towards Privet Drive. We were all silent, the letters prohibiting much conversation, and our wings hardly made a whisper as they cut through the air. I loved the sky. But I had never done a full length flight like this before. I had always Apperated from place A to place B to cut time and preserve energy. But I had more energy than I thought I did. We flew over *English city* before I even thought of being tired. But by the time we got to Little Whinging, I had cramps in my wings and was eager to touch down and deliver my letter.

I spotted Number Four and started descending. The whole group, now twice as large as it had been when we started off, went down with me, landing on mailboxes, chimneys, and fences to rest. I noticed the Dursleys sitting in their sitting room, having tea and cookies, Harry offering a plate of sweets to Dudley like a waiter. They hardly payed him any mind. I would show them.

I flew up towards the chimney, and started dropping my letters down. The old next to me did the same. About a hundred owls started letting letters fly. The combined wing power of all of us forces the letters down faster and faster, a whirlwind of paper and feathers. Glancing through the window at the chaos we had created, I smiled. There was no way the Dursleys could stop Harry from getting his letter now.

Oh how wrong I was.

I looked through the window to find that Harry had grabbed a few of the letters and was trying to open them, but then Mr. Dursley had grabbed him, and soon enough, they had packed their bags and were heading out to the car. Some of the owls tried to stop them, but Mr Dursley just shooed them away.

They sped off, leaving us defeated. For now. I turned to the owls, saying, "No one follow me. I'm following them, and I'll come back with the information soon enough. The less owls the better. Am I clear?"

They nodded and flew off, probably to McGonagall. I turned back, stretched my aching wings for another flight, and took off.

It took me a while to spot their car, but once I did, I was in full pursuit. I don't think anyone inside the car saw me, otherwise _something_ would have happened.

They kept driving until they reached a gloomy hotel in some place called Cokeworth. The sign read 'Railview Hotel'. I turned into a human just as they entered the hotel, and went in a few seconds after they did. I stood behind the counter just behind them, and listened to their conversation. They were taking room 17. I decided that I would take the room right next to them. Room 16.

I took lodge in the room. There was a queen bed and a twin bed. The sheets were damp and musty. I threw myself onto the twin bed and decided to wake up in the morning and deliver a letter then. I reached into my pocket and took out another letter. I lightly traced the seal on the front, then flipped the letter. On the back, the address had magically changed. The address now read-

 _Mr. H. Potter_

 _Room 17_

 _Railview Hotel_

 _Cokeworth_

I smiled. Sometimes, even the simplest of magic filled me with wonder.

I slipped the letter back in my pocket and closed my eyes. Suddenly, a very loud noise startled me. After a few seconds, I realized it was Dudley's snoring.

I could hear that little pig through the walls! I had forgotten how loud he snored. I grumbled and got up, deciding that I would deliver my letter now in case I couldn't get enough sleep.

I went to the counter and asked to speak with the manager. I handed him the letters, explaining that there may be a few more coming. He nodded and told me he would deliver them in the morning. I agreed and, getting an idea, I went out the front door and flew off to the Hogwarts owlery, where the owls were waiting for me.

I told them what happened and where to go, and they all nodded, grabbed a letter and flew away towards Cokeworth.

For now, I was exhausted and furious. How dare they deny the greatest wizard, the bravest wizard, Harry Potter his birthright to be taught at the place I called come? It boiled my blood to see him treated like this, especially after all I had seen him endure already, was he not allowed to have this one break, this one thing to go through without a struggle? I knew things would be hard enough in the future, so could they not give him one thing in peace? I was in a rage.

Flying back to Cokeworth wasn't hard with so much anger fueling every flap of my wings. I dropped my letter off at the post station and gathered with the owls in a large barn just outside the city. Now, with some adrenaline fading and anger dispersing, the fatigue was returning. The other owls seemed worn out as well, so I shouted out, "Do you guys want to spend the day here?"

A chorus of agreements went up around the barn, and sleepy heads started being tucked under wings. I had never slept in my animagus form, but it couldn't be that hard, could it?

It wasn't, thank goodness. But waking up was impossible.

First, it was disorienting, waking up in a body every molecule screamed wasn't your own. But after you got over the initial shock of _wow I'm an owl,_ things got a little easier. A friendly owl who landed next to me made it even easier to drag myself out of a stupor.

"Hello," Said the owl. "I'm Jane." Jane smiled, or at least what I thought was a smile, owl beaks not being like human lips. Jane was a brown elf owl with a permanently surprised look on her face, but she seemed friendly. "The others-" she glanced around at the other owls, maybe hoping nobody would see us, "The others say you're a human." I nodded my snowy head. "Do you want to fly back together?"

"Sure." Her large eyes widened with joy, and we took off. Some were already soaring through the crisp early morning sky, enjoying some free flight time without a letter or a package to deliver.

"What's your name?" She asked, diving and swooping.

"Angel," I told her, making an ark through the air with my wings.

"Huh, an owl angel. Flying through the sky and protecting the masses. Fitting."

We flew in quietude, simply adoring the country fields and small cities below.

"So Jane," I asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Hmm?" She looked over to me with those big eyes.

"Are you a school owl?"

"Yeah, but I'm employed by the Ministry of Magic. I deliver the paper and the recipients give me gallions, some of which go to the school, and some of which go to the Ministry. It's one of the ways the school helps support itself. I'm honored to be apart of it."

"I wonder how large the school vaults are exactly. Huge, probably, since they've been collecting since the eleven hundreds."

"I wouldn't know," Jane said. "I'm only an owl, doomed to live a short and indistinct life. What's it like to be human?" her round eyes grew to the size of saucers, looking at me expectantly.

"Well, for me, it wasn't all that pleasant. My mum died when I was young, really young, then my dad got jailed soon after that. Then I was put in an orphanage and bullied, then I went to school, made some friends, but still got bullied. When I got out of school, I got put in a coma for eight months, so it hasn't all been a pile of happiness and smiled."

"Oh," Jane said. "I always thought it was good food and magic."

We didn't talk for a long time after that. Infact, only when we saw the castle on the horizon did I realize how long we'd been flying. When we had started off, the sum was just cresting above the sleepy hillside. Now it had to be something like midday. Jane flew in beside the castle, near the Great Hall, where we saw teachers eating a late breakfast of early lunch. A stone slid aside when we approached, opening up to reveal a dark space.

"This place must be crawling with spiders," I muttered after landing. My skin was crawling with all the prospective creepy crawlies.

"Oh, it is!" said Jane's voice somewhere to my left. Even in what should be the absolute dark, I could see an outline of her miniscule figure. "That's what makes it so great. Now we just have to wait for the next door to open."

The next door did not seem to be a door, only a thin blanket of glossimer. Like everything else, it was pitch black, but seemed to be the only source of light. The other side must be showing the sky above, clear and bright. I walked over to it and put a wing to it. What should have been silky was hard and cold as stone. I recalled a transfiguration lesson where McGonagall taught us how to keep an object looking a certain way, while changing the texture and durability. That was exactly what had happened here, except on a way larger scale. So large, I had no idea how big the chamber really was, or the time since a human had been up here.

I blinked, and the glossimer was gone, replaced by the Great Hall. Jane swooped down, and I followed. But, being the big show off I am, midair I turned back to human, several feet above the Slytherin table. I landed nimbly on the the wood, hardly needing to regain my balance. Jane was still doing circles.

I had the attention of the entire staff table, who had stopped eating and looked up at me. I smiled and hopped down to the stone, striding up to McGonagall. "Hello, Professor!" I said cheerily.

"Hello, Ms. Custos." The tips of her mouth twitched.

"I love the entry!" Mallory said, raising her voice for me to hear.

"Thank you!" I shouted back. I looked over the faces of the other teachers. Snape was scowling, but that wasn't a surprise. Of all his Slytherin favorites, I was at the bottom of the list. The Defence Against the Dark Arts stop was vacant, as was the Astronomy and Muggle Studies, but those teachers often ate in there office. Hagrid was beaming.

"Well done, Ms. Custos," Said Dumbledore. He was smiling, but I was struggling to keep mine. Was I not supposed to do that? "Professor McGonagall told me everything. You and Ms. Knox can go downstairs to your common room, while Professor McGonagall and I discuss in my office the next action to take. You can join us there when a house elf comes to retreive you." He nodded and smiled again. "And take an apple, I'm sure you're hungry."

I grabbed an apple off the tray and nodded thanks to Dumbledore. Mallory stood up to join me, and as we walked out of the hall, we heard Snape say, in his annoyingly nasally voice, "I'm not sure you should trust that one, Headmaster. Her father, you know…"

My grip on the apple tightened. He said that before we had left on purpose. He wanted to aggravate me, get on my nerves, crawl under my skin. My fingernails left crescent moons on the skin of the apple when I released my death grip on the fruit as we descended the staircase to the Slytherin common rooms.


	10. A Very Harry Reunion

We descended towards the dungeons, a feeling of warmth replacing my previous rage. We reached a stone wall. I looked at Mallory.

"Do you know the password?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"It's really not that hard to guess. The person who changes the passwords-Snape, I suppose-really has no imagination whatsoever," she nudged me and winked at me, "He should take a page out of McGonagall's book."

I laughed and Mallory declared, " _Salazar._ "

Nothing.

Mallory tried again, 'Slytherin.'

Nothing.

We tried quite a few passwords.

"Pure-blood," I said.

"Snakes," Mallory said.

"Green," I said. Mallory turned to me, "Green. Really?"

I shrugged and said, "Hey! We have green on our _everything_ , I thought I'd give it a go!"

A jarring sound cut out argument short. A stone door had appeared. I smiled and looked at Mallory as I entered, saying, "Green. _Really_."

We entered the common room, an underground luxury. I found it better than the Gryffindor common room, which was rowdy and loud. The Ravenclaws were either dead quiet reading or having a passionate debate. Hufflepuffs were really warm and welcoming, but their common room just wasn't' my style .I had been in each common room few times, mostly because my little posse of friends was a mixture of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and only one Slytherin.

This common room, _my_ common room, gave me a feel of power as well as a refreshing feeling of home. I traced my hands along the rough stone walls, looking up to find the same green lamps on chains, magically lit to give the whole room a strange, detached feeling.

The fireplace wasn't burning, though most of the time it did. Across from the huge mantle, my favorite chair sat. I would always sit in it, and if anyone else did, I would do anything to shoo them away. I wonder who had claimed its velvety cloth now.

I sat down in it, feeling the same comfort I always felt sitting in it. But it didn't last long, because suddenly I saw movement behind a giant glass window that allowed you to see into the lake. I stood up and scanned the deep black depths, looking for one, giant, eye.

Jeff, the giant squid, was nowhere in sight. But Ariel, a mermaid with one of the most beautifully eerie voices under the lake was swimming by when she saw me. She smiled and waved. I waved back. I had named her when I was a first year. I read the name in a book somewhere and found it to be beautiful. She'd loved the name and went by it since.

I had seen interpretations of mermaids by Muggles. They were shown as beautiful, almost humanoid like creatures. Real mermaids were nothing like this. To be honest, they were absolutely hideous. Yet I found them even more beautiful than those in the Muggle seemed mean, but if you truly were kind to them, they could be some of the kindest friend you could know.

Sometimes, when a new first year couldn't sleep, a prefect would ask the mermaids to sing a song to them. They had voices more harmonious than anything I have ever heard.

I found myself crying, I missed Hogwarts _so much_. It was truly home for me. I couldn't bear to be anywhere but here. But given my whole life, my 'home' back at the orphanage, even Azkaban, at especially dark times, seemed inviting.

Mallory came up behind me, saying, "We've got about a whole day at Hogwarts. All to ourselves. What do you reckon we do?"

I looked at her and said, "What do you think?"

She studied my face and rolled her eyes, "If you dare say-"

"The library!" I say, and run out of the common room.

"I swear, sometimes I think you ought to be in Ravenclaw at times!" Mallory shouted after me.

Before going to the library, I stopped by at the Great Hall. The tables were laid with snacks, little treats to grab on your way to class. I went in and grabbed a whole bowl of cookies. I always did this, and by this point, the teachers had grown used to my appetite.

Carrying the bowl, I walked to the library. Saying my greetings to the librarian, Madam Pince, I went to a cluster of chairs and put the bowl of cookies down on the table where the chairs sheer gathered around. Then I went to browsing the aisles, I randomly grabbed a few books and brought them back to my desk. Flipping through the pages, I found that I had grabbed a book on the American Revolution and the wizarding conflict involved. Several Muggles were mentioned, like Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. They intrigued me, but Prince said she didn't have any books on them specifically. But I decided I would check the book discussing the events if the Revolution out. After a half of a second, I realized I wasn't _officially_ a Hogwarts student, so I couldn't really check the book out. So, I spent another 2 hours in the library, reading and snacking.

Mallory came in, after that time, grabbing the last cookie and saying, "The house elf _finally_ came."

I closed the book and got up. I followed Mallory and the house elf to Dumbledore's office, where McGonagall was pacing. Professor Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk. As soon as we arrived, Professor McGonagall stopped and Professor Dumbledore smiled. He stood up and greeted us, welcoming us in.

"Ah, Ms. Custos, Ms. Knox, please, come in," he turned to the elf, "Thank you, Hearth."

The house elf gave a small smile,nodded and left the room. Dumbledore looked at us now.

"You have both done a _marvelous_ job. Becoming Animagi at such a young age. It is truly astounding. Only a handful of students have achieved such a thing at a younger age. Most wizards can't even imagine casting such a magnificent spell until they are as old as me!"

Dumbledore leaned in, a twinkle in his eyes, "Between you and me, my age may as well be impossible." He winked at us and we failed at concealing laughs. Dumbledore always had a way to make the students smile. He was a happy old man, and I would hate for him to be otherwise.

"But now, down to business!" he said, clapping his hands. McGonagall spoke behind us, "Apparently, after you delivered those letters at Cokeworth, Ms. Custos, the Dursleys moved yet again. This time to a further and harsher destination. The owls won't be able to sustain such weather. So, we've decided to send Hagrid. Hagrid will take Harry to Diagon Alley, to get his school supplies. Harry, like any young witch or wizard, will need an _owl_."

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled with the glint of a brilliant idea. "We have an owl right here, don't we?" I cracked a grin. Of course. "Professor McGonagall has spoken to me about both of your previous assignments, and what she plans on allowing the pair of you to do while you are at Hogwarts. She's even concocted some polyjuice potion for you to try out. Together, you will be Astoria," he handed Mallory a small shot glass of a strange bubbling, blue liquid, "and Daphne Greengrass. Twins." He handed me the other glass, this one a smooth yellow. "Drink up!" Beside me, Mallory shrugged. Then, with one swift motion, she knocked back the glass and swallowed.

"Ugh!" Said Mallory, making a face. "Awful texture, but tastes…" she looked at the clear glass. "Tastes surprisingly okay."

I followed her motion, gulping down the yellow stuff. It certainly felt funny going down, but tasted like dandelions. How peculiar.

I looked at my friend, remembering the strange books we had read in NEWT levels, and the painful transformation. It was really a strange thing. Her skin started stretching, pulling over her jovial face, making her facial features looking sharp. Her hair started looking the ginger quality I had started getting used to, quickly turning into a stark black. Mallory grinned at me, and her eyes still sparkled. My own skin felt like Silly Putty, moving and growing and shrinking, my bones moving like cooked spaghetti, shrinking until I was shorter but slightly lanky. "Hello, Daphne! Pleased to meet you," Mallory said, sticking out her hand like we had just met. I took the handshake and responded, "You as well, Astoria." McGonagall handed us a mirror, and we took turns looking into its glassy surface.

I looked very similar to Mallory, with eastern Asian features. But the edges of my face are less sharp. We looked eleven years old, with the same hair, black and silky.

"Awesome!" Said Mallory, or Astoria now, clapping me on the back.

"So, you lady's will have a day job and a night job." Dumbledore swept a silver sliver of beard from his face. "During the school day, you'll be students. You will perform homework and tests, but you've done it all before, so it shouldn't be to hard. But keep at average, we don't want you drawing attention to yourself. The Muggle Astoria and Daphne Greengrass live in Yorkshire, but I've met a Greengrass couple outside of Glasgow, they let me stay with them one night after a long trip. I've convinced them to keep you over the summer. They'll love to have you. Of course, Ms. Custos will have to stay in her owl form over the summer to stay with Harry, but if you're allowed out, you can visit Ms. Knox, who won't have to keep the disguise all over the summer, that won't be necessary, but at school, you will have to keep the mirage. Polyjuice will be delivered to your bedside every morning, but only enough for that day. Take one gulp at every meal, or whenever you feel a change. You will be able to tell the students it's medication for a person family medical problem. Ms. Custos will be an owl during the night, or whenever Harry needs to deliver a letter, when you will have an excused absence from class. If there are any other questions…?" We shook our heads. He pulled a long, thin wand and flourished it, making a large owl cage appear out of thin air. It fell onto the desk with a clang. "Ms. Custos, Ms. Knox will take you to the Owl Emporium, where you will stay until Hagrid comes tomorrow. I will tell him personally to get the snowy owl for Harry." He nodded towards me, and I took the gesture to mean my animagus would need to come in now. I turned into my black spotted, powder white owl, and jumped onto Mallory's arm, who placed me onto the perch of the cage and shut the door with a click.

Suddenly, I felt very trapped. I could not leave this cage of my own free will and it scared me. I could feel my blood pressure rising, my heart pumping hard. I wanted to trash my way out until I broke the iron bars, or bite the lock until my sharp beak sliced through the cold hard metal now restricting my flight. I was meant to be _free_ , not shut up in a cage. I don't know if this was just the owl part of me, or because it was part of me, I was an owl, but I sure did hate the fact that I couldn't spread my wings all the way out to there full length.

"Sorry, Angel," said Mallory as she picked up the cage. "I know you despise it." I let out a chirp of agreement. I sure did hate it.

"I will take you to Diagon Alley." Dumbledore held out an arm, and Mallory hesitantly placed her arm on his. "Professor, please call Hagrid. We need to, ah, brief him." McGonagall nodded, and Dumbledore twisted on his heel, and we were sucked through the Apperation tube.

We found ourself standing in the bustling lane of Diagon Alley, blinking in the shocking sunlight. Wizard and witches were hurrying about, getting school supplies and ice cream and brooms and robes and everything inbetween. I remembered coming here as a kid and being in awe at so much magic in one place. The Ministry Official who had taken me was very nice, and let me enjoy the whole experience without rushing it. But I had still always hoped and prayed Mum and Dad could have been the ones holding my hand and showing me the shops, buying me my wand, having my robes tailored. But we couldn't think about what ifs now, because Dumbledore was talking. I altered my attention back to him, squinting my yellow eyes at the headmaster.

"I'm sure you're wondering about Apperation inside Hogwarts grounds." He said, answering Mallory's questioning face. "Well, Ms. Knox, my answer to you is this." A smirk spread across his face. "I am the headmaster, I can do whatever I want." Mallory was left quite speechless and in the dust, because Dumbledore had already taken off, taking long strides towards a shop with a dark sign reading, 'Eeylops Owl Emporium'. Next to the words where a collection of owls, of all different sizes and shapes. They flew around the sign with a letter in their beak, wings flapping. Looking at it only reminded me of my inability to fly at that moment and I had to look away.

Dumbledore pushed open the door and Mallory followed. Owls of all kinds and sorts whooped and hooted in the rafters, calling out to each other.

"Gerald! They got new owl food!"

"Did you _hear_ who they sold Susan to? Lucky owl."

"I tell you, Mark, I'm tired of this place. If I don't leave soon I'll be tired of this life. How to hold out hope on such a depressing planet, I haven't a clue."

"It'll be fine someday, Brian, I promise. Someday."

Wow. I had no idea owls could be so depressed.

Dumbledore walked up to short witch pouring over what looked like a checking book at a high desk. She perked up when she saw the High Warlock of the Wizengamot approaching her, all smiles. "Can I help you, sir?" She asked, her voice squeaking.

"Well, as it happened, you can." He swept up his robes to avoid an owl dropping, but continued smiling at the witch. "I have an owl here, and she'll be staying at this lovely little shop for the night. Tomorrow a man, his name is Hagrid, will come in and request to take her out."

"Is that all?" The witch asked. Dumbledore nodded. "Well, that'll be one sickle for the overnight service." The Headmaster nodded and pulled out a silver coin.

Mallory was still gawking around the shop when Dumbledore cleaned his throat and said, "Ms. Greengrass, the owl please." She jumped a little, but put my cage on the desk anyway.

"Well aren't you a beauty!" Exclaimed the witch. "What is her name?" She asked, tapping the lock of my cage with her wand and gently pulling me out. It felt good to be free, but a little strange to be looked at with such scrutiny.

"Angel," said Mallory, speaking for the first time since we entered the shop. The witch stroked my feathers and said, "Well hello, Angel. My name is Abigail. Now fly up with your friends, that Hagrid fellow will be here to pick you tomorrow." I took flight to the rafters, and all the owls stopped talking as I landed away from the group, ruffling my feathers and straightening my back.

Dumbledore left, and Mallory followed with one last pitiful glance back at me. Another owl clicked her beak and walked over to me along the beam. "My name's Deborah, and I heard the whole thing. What's your name?" She asked in a very nonsense set of way.

"Well if you were listening to the whole thing you would know my name is Angel." I scooted away, wanting nothing to do with this _Deborah_.

"Those humans never get names right. You must be brainwashed to think that your name is the name _they_ give you. It's _always_ wrong, trust me sweetheart. So, what's your real name? The one your mama owl gave you?"

I really was starting to hate this bird. She was high and mighty, she was. My mother always called me her Angel, but my mother was gone, left to meet the real angels, for all I knew.

"Oh, give it a rest, Deborah. If she says her name is Angel, it's Angel. Don't pester her." All the owls where looking at me now. Deborah rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Well then, _Angel,_ I hope you _love_ your stay here. I really do." She flashed an evil smile and flew off, leaving me to tuck my head under my wing and feign sleep until Hagrid came to pick me up.

I woke up to two large hands grabbing me. Startled, I started hooting loudly and waving my wings like a madman. Madowl? Madbird?

"Woah there! Calm down, I'm just here ter pick ye up," a gruff voice said. I turned to see Hagrid, and relaxed.

He smiled and a warm feeling filled me. Hagrid was an old friend of mine, he was always there for me. I saw that Harry was next to him, looking at me in awe. My heart was beating like mad, and I'm sure his was, too. Hagrid put me down on the counter next to an open cage and I walked in. Harry gently closed the door and latched it. Soon, they had 'bought' me, and we were out.

Harry was stammering his thanks to Hagrid, while I looked out with love at the boy who I wanted to do anything to protect. It was so fulfilling to see him again.

"Don' mention it," Hagrid said gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now-only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."

I _loved_ wand shopping, it had been one of my favorite parts of my first trip to Diagon Alley. It was the best thing you could ever see. Who needs Muggle comedy shows when you could see first years smash stuff with wands?

We reached Ollivander's. It was a small space, with boxes of wands stacked high to the ceiling. There was no furniture besides for a spindly chair that Hagrid sat on, resting his shocking pink umbrella beside him.

"Good morning," said a soft voice. Harry and Hagrid jumped, Hagrid standing up quickly because he almost broke the chair.

Garrick Ollivander stood before us, his silvery eyes shining like the moon.

"Hello," Harry said a bit awkwardly. I knew how he felt, Mr. Ollivander was indeed intimidating.

"Ah yes," said Ollivander, "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter."

He examined Harry, a faint smile on his lips.

"You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand."

Ollivander talked about Harry's parents and I felt an empty nostalgic feeling engulf me. I hardly knew my parents, but what would their first wands be like? How would they find the wand that was perfect for them? I had many questions, but I had to snap myself out of my trance when a stream of red and gold sparks brought me back to reality. Hagrid whooped and clapped.

"Oh, bravo!" Ollivander cried, "Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…"

He muttered while putting Harry's wand into it's case.

Harry asked the question that was on my mind, "Sorry, but what's curious?"

Mr. Ollivander looked at Harry with his pale eyes as he said, "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather," Ollivander paused, "Just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother… Why, its brother gave you that scar."

Ollivander diverted his eyes to the wand as he continued, "Yes, 13 and a half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember…"

Ollivander's voice got even quieter, which I didn't think was possible. It had a strange way of carrying through the room despite the volume, "I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."

I saw Harry shiver. He paid for the wand and we left.

The sun hung low in the sky as we made our way down Diagon Alley, to the Leaky Cauldron, down to the underground trains. Hagrid and Harry had a bite to eat, and we climbed on the train back to the Dursleys. Hagrid told Harry all the details, even though I was sure he was missing something, and Apparated away, leaving me and Harry to endure the next month together.

It was a long, slow month. Even though I was allowed out of my cage for the most part, and I never had to look at those awful Dursleys, I could still feel their suffocating presence of hate all around me, from the way Harry continued to look malnourished, to the taunting jeers you could hear from outside the bedroom door, coming from Dudley's rats nest of possessions.

Still, Harry was kind. He fed me scraps from the dinner table, and the water in my bowl was always fresh and clean. He had decided to name me Hedwig off of a name he had read in his History of Magic textbook, enough to put me asleep, sure, but he was fascinated by the names and places of wizarding history. I couldn't blame him, when you really started to get past names and dates, history could be fascinating

One of the most heartbreaking things about sharing a room with Harry was the calendar on the wall. It looked like something Dudley had discarded, because he certainly wouln't have wanted it. Each month was a different set of kittens. Harry didn't seem to mind, but the real heart breaker was the calendar part, the part with the days and weeks. Harry was counting down the days he would get to Hogwarts, where he would get to be in a place with so much possibility and so little Dudley Dursley. Every night, he would cross off another day and stare wistfully at the last day on the calendar, the last day he had to spend with the Dudleys until next summer.

 **Chapter 10! *streamers and stuff* We have way more to go, so just you wait, just you wait. Don't forget to comment and share and name your first born child after one of our characters. Thanks for reading!**


	11. Back to Hogwarts

Finally, the last day on the calendar was crossed off late one night. The next morning I would be off to school, off to home. But it was clear that Harry wasn't so sure about going to the greatest wizarding school of all time, he spent the whole night fretting, tossing and turning, out of peace. For someone who had been sort of an outcast in Muggle society as well, I could understand. I had known about magic from the beginning, but even so, when going to Hogwarts, I was plagued with thoughts, _Will they like me? Will I have friends? What if I fail?_ By the time Harry's clock rang five in the morning, we had hardly slept a wink.

Drearily, Harry pulled on some Muggle clothes, and dragged out his suitcase, which he had carefully packed the night before. It had been arranged that the Dursleys would take Harry to King's Cross in London, because they had to take Dudley to the hospital to get his tail removed. I wasn't exactly sure how he got the tail, but it sure was a sight to see when I was first carried into the house by Harry. Other than one or two glimpses, the Dursleys were diligently avoiding Harry's room, which I had no problem with.

When Harry left the room to brush his teeth and do his makeup or whatever rituals he needed to do, I performed a do-not-try-at-home move. Under the floorboards was a flask of the first batch of polyjuice potion for me to take on the train. When, I wasn't sure, but I would figure it out. So carefully, very, very carefully, I focused on my right wing. I imagined it as no longer my wing, but as my hand, able to flex and move and get me out. Slowly, it transformed, and my owl body had a very human hand. Thank goodness I had had the good sense to practise changing just one part before I had to do it here.

Flexing my fingers to the fullest capacity, I reached for the key, just centimeters away from the cage. It hurt, trying to fit my disproportionately large fingers through the bars, but I was able to grab the key and stuff it into the keyhole, freeing myself. I leaped out the cage, making sure to be as quiet as a church mouse, and glide to the floor. Very peaceful, but a strange sight if anyone was to walk in. With a soft pop, I was myself again (fully robed, thank goodness), and was able to yank up the floorboard (gently, of course), and get the polyjuice potion and a key I had ever so cleverly replicated to get myself out of the cage if need be again.

Stuffing the flask and the key into my robe pocket, I heard the toilet down the hall flush and the sink turn on, and knew I only had a few seconds. In a flash, I was an owl, who was flying up to the cage, giving herself a human hand, and locking the cage with the original key, and tossing it back onto the table and turning my hand back and acting like nothing had happened at all. In fact, my heart was going a little faster than usual.

Harry looked suspiciously at the key that was still shaking a little where I had thrown it, then to me, then back at the key. But he shrugged and went on with his mentally preparing himself for whatever would come next.

It took a fair bit of persuasion to get Dudley to sit next to Harry, who was clutching my cage in his lap. He was so terrified of Harry that he wouldn't get anywhere near him, and while this was a little funny, someone who had been so keen on ruining Harry's life not two months before, had become so terrified of him now, it was also a little scary. What exactly had Hagrid done to make Dudley so petrified of a scrawny little boy?

The car ride was absolutely silent, save for the whimpers of Dudley whenever Harry flashed him a wicked smile. I could see he was having just a tad bit of fun being the tormentor instead of the tormented.

Finally, we arrived in London, and shortly after, Kings Cross. Like always, it was bustling with people, shouts for tickets and calls for boarding reverberated around the stone walls while people inside thronged and massed, rushing to get to one place as fast as possible. I had always been that kind of person, eager to hop up to the next challenge, but I had always hated situations where people made that personality into more than a personality, into more of a real situation. In simpler words, I was a bit freaked out by all the people.

The Dursleys got themselves a parking place, and pulled out Harry's trunk. Harry himself clambered out, setting me on top of the trolley. My head swiveled, trying to take in every face, every movement. Finally we stopped between platforms nine and ten. I looked happily towards the secret entrance and looked back at Harry, who looked disappointed. Mr. Dursley had a grin on his face equivalent to a goblin's as he left poor Harry in confusion. Many of the Muggles stared at Harry, probably because of me. You didn't catch many Muggles with a pet owl.

A guard passed, and Harry went up to him.

"Excuse me, sir? Do you know where the train to Hogwarts is going?" he asked politely.

"Hogwarts? No, I don't believe so. If you could tell me where this Hogwarts is, I could probably show you where the nearest train to this fanciful location ." the guard said.

"Of course, it's…" Harry stopped. I realized that Harry didn't know where Hogwarts is, and so did the guard. He now seemed annoyed.

"I'm sorry, sir, do you know of a train that leaves a 11:00?" Harry desperately said.

"No, there isn't." the guard said and strolled away, muttering something about time wasters. I was outraged. Harry was panicking. I glanced at the clock and realized we only had ten minutes until the train departed.

Suddenly, Harry spun around, and looked at a plump woman with flaming red hair, who was talking to four boys with the exact same hair as her. The boys were pushing carts like Harry's, and one of them had an owl. Harry started pushing his cart after them.

The woman stopped, and so did the boys and Harry.

"Now, what was the platform number?" the woman asked. A girl, also with the bright red hair, piped up, "Nine and three quarters!"

Harry's suspicion and my suspicion was confirmed. This was a magic family, and they were going to Hogwarts.

"Percy, you go first." the woman said, and the oldest boy, Percy, walked into the barrier between nine and ten and disappeared. Then, a boy named Fred and his twin brother, George. Before the last boy could go, Harry approached the woman and asked her about the platform. Apparently the last boy, her son, Ron, was also a first year. She told Harry how to get onto the platform.

Harry was a bit skeptical, but to be fair, we all were our first time.

He ran into the barrier and soon we were on Platform Nine and Three Quarters. It felt amazing to be back, to see all the Kneazles and cats and owls, their owners, the parents. It felt like I was going home again. Well, I _was_ going home, but not exactly the way I imagined it.

I heard the owls' conversations-

"-you're back?"

"Yeah, Barbara gave me to her sister, Janice, so I'm back-"

"-never gives me enough rats-"

"-Hogwarts, such an amazing place-"

"-Dumbledore, what a man-"

I bet if Harry heard the things I could hear, he wouldn't be nervous about Hogwarts anymore. I looked around and around for Mallory, but couldn't see her anywhere. Maybe she was already on the train. I would see her soon enough, right?

We passed multiple students until Harry found an empty carriage. He put me inside first then went to move his trunk. He started pushing his trunk onto the train, but dropped it on his foot, Harry letting out a small gasp of pain.

The twins, Fred and George, came up to him.

"Want a hand?" one of them said.

"Yes, please." Harry said. The twins tucked Harry's trunk into the corner of the empty compartment. Harry pushed his hair out of his face, and one of the twins pointed to it, saying "What's that?"

The other gasped, "Blimey, are you-?"

"Am I who?" Harry asked.

"Harry Potter?" the twins said together.

"Oh, him," Harry said, "I mean, yeah, I am him."

The twins were called by their mother, and went away. Harry sat down next to the window, watching the red-haired family. Another boy joined him somewhere along the ride. He seemed nice, but I didn't really pay him much mind. I was tuckered out by all the people and all the worrying. Soon, I would be able to fly free. Oh boy, I couldn't wait.

When I woke up, Harry had just finished buttoning up his cloak and was about to exit the carriage. It was a bit of a shock for me, if they were about to leave, then I had to be with them for the Sorting Ceremony. So, with the same expertise I had performed earlier in the day, I tried to freeze my transformation from owl to human in the exact moment when I could get the key and unlock myself. With a little bit of luck, I was able to do it, get out of the cage and knock back my polyjuice potion.

Like always, it was a weird, weird, sensation. But thank goodness it was over fast and I was Daphne Greengrass. My robes fit just right, thanks to some tailoring I had been attempting in my free time. I shook my long black hair out and glanced in the window. Perfect disguise.

Then I strolled out of the carriage like I had been Daphne Greengrass my whole life. The train was starting to empty out, and the corridors where getting quieter, so I hurriedly followed a pack of 6th year Hufflepuffs out side onto the platform.

Outside, it was dark put certainly full of people. I was tempted to follow the older students, into the carriages pulled by thin air, but I wasn't an older student anymore. I was a first year, so I pointed my feet towards a tall, imposing figure who looked to big to be allowed. He was shouting, "C'mon, follow me- any more firs' years?" He swept the crowd that was huddled at his feet. "Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me." I was standing at the outskirts of the group, looking for Mallory. No, looking for Astoria. She was near a blonde boy with his hair slicked back. Something about him… "Good. Now let's get a move on." He motioned with a huge fist for us to follow him, and we all shuffled quickly to get to wherever he was leading us. I knew he was taking us to the lake, so I didn't spend too much time worrying about it. Instead, I quickly pushed past the group and found Astoria/Mallory.

"Hello," I whispered in her ear.

She jumped about a foot in the air. "Merlin, Ang-Daphne, you scared me. You got out of the owl cage just right, then?"

"Yeah, I figured it out. You exited?"

"Oh, yeah. How many people-" She looked around to see if anyone was listening, but everyone else was just to frightened to be talking or was whispering something to their own friends. Astoria dropped her voice so only I could hear her anyway, "How many people get to go through the Sorting Ceremony twice?" She grinned.

"We're making history, we are. I wonder what the Sorting Hat will think, seeing as he can look inside out heads and all that," I wondered.

"I hope he won't be to judgemental. It'll be fine, it's not like he's going to announce it to the whole school, is it?"

"We can only hope."

After that we walked quietly, following Hagrid down a narrow, slippery path.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight 'o Hogwarts in just a sec," called Hagrid over his shoulder. "Jus' round this bend here."

There was a great "Ooooh!" form around the first year party and I stared up at the castle in all its moonlit glory. It was as magnificent as it had been when I had seen the castle for the first time, windows flickering form candle light, across from the silky black lake, nestled into the sight of a great mountain. Simply beautiful.

We were now standing on the slightly sandy beach of the Black lake, where boats were standing, ready for us to get in. Hagrid instructed us to no more than four to a boat, and I clambered in with Astoria and two boys, who introduced themselves as Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas.

"Everyone in? Right then- FORWARD!" Hagrid shouted once we had all gotten into a boat. And it was as if the boats had sails, gliding across the lake, smooth as glass, reflecting the moonlight. I kept my eye's fixed on Hogwarts, seven more years I would be here. Seven more, hopefully glorious, years

"Heads down!" Shouted Hagrid as we approached an opening in a cliff face. A curtain of ivy obstructed my view for a second, and I put my head down as instructed. We glided through an underground tunnel of sorts, and I took the time to take in all of my surroundings, for I had been to nervous to do so the first, definitely more nervous time I had been down this path.

It was a cave, definitely, an underground harbor of sorts. We were definitely underneath the school. Everyone got out of their boat onto rocks and pebbles and while Hagrid was looking through the boats, he found a toad, which was given to its prospective owner, more of the other students were hovering around a passageway. Hagrid led us down it until we came into a large, almost meadow sized, patch of slipper, dark green grass, shaded by the castle, which was now looming directly above us.

We walked up the stone steps to the great front door. I breathed in a deep breath, smelling the familiarity of the grounds, the stone, and the lake. Like always, the feeling of belonging set into me like a cat getting comfortable. Hagrid knocked three times on the great front door. It swung open, and I was back at home.


	12. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizard

Chapter 12: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

All the amazing feelings I had felt when I was a first year came rushing back to me. I felt tears in my eyes as I remembered the wonderful, wonderful memories I had experienced here.

We were led up a staircase and were told to wait. I looked at the blonde boy. Something about him didn't make me trust him. I leaned over to Mal-I mean, Astoria, and said, "Who's that bloke with the hair?"

"Draco Malfoy. Quite a snob, really. Barged into my carriage without asking." Astoria muttered.

"A Malfoy? You know I hate Malfoys!" I said, remembering a particularly terrible experience with them. But that's a story for later. Malfoy swaggered up to us. Astoria smiled, though I could see hate in her eyes. I didn't spare him a glance.

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. And you are?" Malfoy said to me, extending his arm to me. I reluctantly shook it and said, "Ang-" Astoria stepped on my foot- "I mean, Daphne Greengrass."

Malfoy smiled and said, "Lovely name."

"Thanks." I muttered. Luckily, Professor McGonagall stopped us from having further conversations.

"May I have your attention, please?" she said, looking around at us. Her eyes lingered on me and Astoria for a small moment.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. As soon as these doors open, you will be sorted into your houses. There are four houses-Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff...and Slytherin."

I frowned a bit. She said 'Slytherin' with a tone I didn't appreciate. Nonetheless, I kept from bursting out.

"I hope I'm in Slytherin." Malfoy muttered next to me. He was making me have second thoughts about going into Slytherin.

After a while, the gates opened and we went in.

I can't possibly describe the amazing place that is the Great Hall. I can only try to describe its magnificence and beauty. The hall was enormous, with four tables for the four houses. The tables were lined with golden plates and cups. At the very front of the room was the table for the professors, and in the middle was Albus Dumbledore himself. Hundreds of beautiful floating candles illuminated the room, giving it a warm glow that I remembered and dearly love. As I looked up to the ceiling I saw the night sky, littered with stars. Of course, there was a ceiling, it was just enchanted to look that way. The Great Hall was, in my opinion, the most beautiful part of Hogwarts. It filled me with joy that I had a chance to see it all again.

We walked to the front of the room, where a tattered old hat sat on a stool. I smiled to myself as I remembered my nervousness and confusion at my own sorting. The muggleborns and some of the half-bloods shared confused glances, while most of the purebloods smiled knowingly.

The hat suddenly spoke in a booming voice,

"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

I smiled and clapped along with the other students as I tried to remember the other poems the hat said, but before I could, the sorting already started. A girl I remember coming into Harry's compartment with bushy hair and large teeth got sorted into Gryffindor.

"She looks like a squirrel." Malfoy muttered. I had been thinking the same thing, but now that he had said it, she was starting to look attractive to me. More people got sorted and finally it was Astoria's turn. She went up to the hat and it was put on her head. She didn't break a sweat. She was so calm and collected. I stared and thought of how she was so calm, when the hat shouted "SLYTHERIN!"

Astoria walked over to the Slytherin table, a smirk on her face. Next, it was my turn. I tried to remain calm and slowly climbed the steps. I sat down on the stool and the hat was put on my head. A small voice spoke in my ear.

"Ah, an old student I see. Came back for more, eh?"

I started to sweat. The hat knew.

"Well, Ms. Custos, as you and your friend were in Slytherin before, I see no wrong in putting you there again. SLYTHERIN!"

The hat shouted and I released my death grip on the stool. I walked over to the Slytherin table and sat next to Astoria, still shocked.

"The hat knew." I whispered. Astoria was perfectly calm as she applauded the next Slytherin to join us.

"Yep," she whispered back. The sorting went on, and McGonagall called out Malfoy's name. The hat didn't even touch his head before it yelled "SLYTHERIN!"

Malfoy swaggered over, a smug look on his face. I groaned and Astoria sighed in annoyance. We were going to have to spend many many classes with him.

But I didn't want to think about that guy right now. All I wanted was to enjoy the food and relish the uncomfortable look Malfoy had when the Bloody Baron sat practically on top of him.

Everything was as I had remembered it. Enough familiarity to be comfortable, yet enough new things to be thrilled about. The whole experience was exhilarating. By the end of the last course, I was stuffed. The food was the greatest I'd ever had, and having been fed nothing but owl food and rats for a month it was even better. I laughed and joked with Astoria, ate more than my fill, and was exhausted. When Dumbledore gave his final words, we all rose and followed the Head Boy and Girl to our common room.

We lazily made our way down to the dungeons, watching the portraits move and talk, clumsily shuffling down stairs until we made our way to the hallway where a large bear fur was hung. We were told the password and directed to our dormitories. I flopped onto the bed after changing, using the suitcase Astoria had packed for me as I couldn't pack myself. There were a few other girls in the room as well, Pansy Parkinson being among them. I couldn't tell if I liked her very much, she was pretty and pureblooded, but a comment she had made at dinner had put me off. Other than that, she was nice to us, probably presuming we were pureblooded as well.

Millicent Bulstrode was another girl. Though calling her a girl might have been a stretch. She was large and burly and looked fit for wrestling. She also had a cat, which she had informed no one was to touch without her permission. The cat was absurdly cute, and was named Destroyer iii. According to Millicent, he was the third in his lineage to bear the sacred name. I would have snickered if I wasn't so exhausted.

Tracey Davis was another member our our little club. She a shy half blood with eye's that zeroed in on everyone and everything, analyzing it to a speck of dust. Even in the haze of full stomachs and sleep, she was surveying everything.

Apart from that, we hardly talked at all, too drowsy to do more than rub our eyes and fluff our pillows. "Good night," mumbled Astoria. I whispered something back, but she was already fast, fast, asleep. A few milliseconds later, so was I.

I woke up next morning to Astoria slamming a pillow in my face.

"Wake up, you bum! We have classes to go to!" she said, pounding the pillow on my face once again. I groaned. The one thing I hated about Hogwarts; getting up early. But, there was breakfast to look forward to, at least. I go dressed and soon, Astoria and I were headed towards the Great Hall for a Great Breakfast. Lucky for us, someone very welcome joined us. Apparently, he didn't need an invitation to saddle beside us at the table and soon started to tell us about his father. It took a great deal of self control to not pour my glass of milk down his trousers.

"Did you know that the Minister of Magic himself has recognized my father 11 times since the past year? Of course, that's not a big thing in my family anymore," Malfoy said, winking at me, "My father-"

"You really admire your father, don't you, mate?" Astoria said, rolling her eyes. Malfoy puffed up his chest, smiled and said, "Well, he's a man to be admired."

I stopped myself from snickering as I remembered every joke I had exchanged with ANYONE about Lucius Malfoy. He was surely not a man to be admired.

After a very annoying but delicious breakfast, Astoria and I headed to Charms class. Malfoy tagged along. Luckily, the desks in Professor Flitwick's room allowed only two people to sit next to each other. Professor Flitwick took attendance, introduced himself and the class soon started.

The whole class consisted of Malfoy bragging, burnt feathers and an explosion caused by one of the Gryffindors.

Next up we had History of Magic.

"I hope they replaced that old bore Binns," Astoria muttered as we walked to the designated room. Astoria's wish was not fulfilled. Professor Binns was still perfectly fine, but then again, he was a ghost and would probably be teaching at Hogwarts forever.

We bared through History of Magic, then we had Herbology, which wasn't too bad. It was actually fun. Fun to watch Malfoy mess up severely, that is. The bushy haired girl from the sorting, her name was Hermione as I now payed attention, was the brightest of the whole class. She knew everything. More than me, and I'd already taken this class! She had really impressed me. But she was also earning too much points for Gryffindor, which bothered me. I tried to earn some points, but the few I got were nothing compared to the tally she had ranked up, all before lunch.

Speaking of which, I was starving. I had forgotten how exhausting school was. So I stuffed myself on delectable steak, until we got up to leave for our next class. As we were exiting the Great Hall, a 5th year glaring at me and Astoria suspiciously handed me a slip of sealed paper. I ripped it open and read: Hagrid has told me that he wishes to send Mr. Potter a letter inviting him to tea. Make sure to be at the Owlery sometime around early Friday morning. And remember, you are here to watch Mr. Potter. Don't have too much fun.

Signed,

M. McGonagall

P.S. Destroy this letter after viewing it.

I could almost see McGonagall's thin lipped half smile as she wrote it. But there was a serious note. We were here to make sure Harry didn't get into harm's way, and we couldn't forget about that.

"Alright, it's only the first day of school, no need to pounce on us," Astoria muttered.

"Was that a cat pun?" I said, looking at her incredulously.

"Yes, yes it was." Her smile was smug, and I scoffed at her.

"Smart arse. I'll make sure to throw that back at you sometime, miss Ginger furrball."

Astoria opened her mouth to shoot something back but a nasally voice from behind us said, "What's the witty banter about, ladies?" Draco Malfoy. I was half convinced he would put a hand on our shoulders but he didn't. Thank God.

"None of your concern, actually," I said, slipping the note away into my robes. Destroy this letter after viewing it. Incendio would take care of that. But not right now. Not in front of him.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we must be off, or we'll be late for our next class," Astoria said, and attempted to sidestep Malfoy. But he blocked our path. He knew less than half the magic we did yet he thought he could just step in front of us and act like he had any right? I think not.

"Malfoy," I said cooly. "Step out of the way." I narrowed my eyes and tried to put off an aura of power. "Now," I demanded, inflicting a sickly sweet tone into my voice. He glanced down but an heir to the Malfoy throne wasn't about to step down so easily, not to a girl like me, who probably wasn't even pure blooded. Who definitely wasn't pure blooded.

"Wait, we have the same class together. We can walk together," Malfoy offered.

"I think not." And with one sweeping movement, Astoria pushed her way forward, shutting him aside with her shoulder and striding down the path to our next class. She was having none of it.

I almost glanced apologetically at Malfoy as we left, because he did look pretty disappointed and embarrassed. But I didn't. He didn't need any kind looks from me. So I looked forward and followed Astoria, far away from the the young boy drilling a hole into our backs with his eyes.

 **Y'all. .. it's been forever. Sorry.**


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